By Any Means Necessary
by NastsTeacup
Summary: A caring man who would hurt the world before anything ever happened to his family, no matter how bad of a person that would make him look like. That was Aiden in a nutshell. Yet there were still surprising nuances to this man that a blast from his not-so-far past would learn. But this entails pain, surprises, betrayal and loss, but will this prove to be too much? Aiden/OC
1. Chapter 1

**Hello everybody! I'm back for my second Watch Dogs story, as the first one is on hiatus for now because I want to follow the game a bit more and especially now that I know more about how the characters are. Which was not a luxury I had when I wrote my first story last year, story I plan to finish but I have to rethink a lot of ideas for it. So, yeah. Here is this new story's first chapter! This is an Aiden/OC story, so if you don't like this...please don't bash it! **

**I own nothing except my OC. It all belongs to Ubisoft. I am simply borrowing what they've given us!  
**

* * *

Watch_Dogs

BY ANY MEANS NECESSARY_

**Chapter 1_ **

It was always the one thing she never wished would happen to her if she one day became a parent and it still was not happening to her. Shaw never thought she be kneeling on the grass in front of the smallest tomb she'd ever seen, tomb covered with flowers and a picture of the prettiest little girl. She ran her fingers through the humid grass, tugging at it once in a while as she stared at the grey tombstone.

"It's too small for a grave, isn't it?" She spoke out loud, giving a sideway glance as a tree came in view. She looked down, a small smile wanting to tug at her lips as she looked back up. Her gaze was finally resting on the peeking shadow of an all too familiar man.

"How long have you known?" The rasp in his voice sent chills up her spine as she sighed.

"That you were there watching?" She slightly smiled. "A while."

From the corner of her eyes she noted how his shadowed figure finally came out of the darkness, taking a stand a few feet behind her as Shaw stood up and dusted herself off before turning to face him fully.

"Aiden." She said his name loud enough for him to hear. "I didn't think I'd see you this quickly, but then…I'm not surprised."

"Jordi told me."

"Of course he did." She chuckled as she breathed the next words. "And now here you are."

She sadly glanced at the tombstone as she gently glided her hands over the lettering, "How long have you been back?"

"A little over a month." She looked up at him. "Walk me to my car?"

He simply nodded as they began walking in tandem, both with their hands at their sides as they remained silent. They soon reached her car as they slowed down, Shaw leaning against it.

"Does Nicky still live in the area?" Aiden nodded. "I should visit her today…"

"She'd be happy to see you…Jacks too." Aiden noted as Shaw smiled.

She slightly shook her head, "What are you planning to do, Aiden?"

"Nothing," he rasped, "nothing _you_ need to worry about." He insisted as she gave a slight scoff.

"So, there is something you're planning…"

"Shaw…"

"Aiden." He rolled his eyes. "You look good…considering."

He shoved his hands in his pockets, pursing his lips, "You too. You look happy."

Her expression was a mixture of a grimace and smile as she answered, "I do look happy, don't I? Looking happy and being happy are two different things…"

Aiden fought the urge to roll his eyes, "Stop."

She chuckled, "You haven't asked yet."

"I figured I'd wait until our second meeting at least…give you some breathing space." She grinned at his words.

"Hm." She licked her lips as she crossed her arms over her chest. "How nice and thoughtful of you." He suppressed a smirk as she shook her head.

She took this time to take in his appearance. Aiden was fairly simple in his way of dressing. And the last two years hadn't changed much about him. He wore the same sweater, same pants, same boots, but the only difference was the coat and cap he wore. He wore his hair the same length, Shaw coming to the conclusion that he hadn't changed much since the last time she'd seen him.

"Planning to disappear any time soon?" He asked, shoving his hands in his pockets.

"Ouch." She scoffed, chuckling a little. "But no, I'm staying."

He squinted when looking up, his eyes meeting with the bright shine of the sun as he asked, "Temporarily or for good?" She looked up at him, staring into his green eyes as she analyzed his features before closing her eyes for a few seconds.

When she opened them up again she was met with his still piercing gaze, "For good." She breathed. She watched him then smiled softly, her hand rising to rest on his forearm and giving it the lightest of squeezes. "It was nice seeing you…I guess we'll have to talk sooner or later about, well, you know…"

He nodded, "You going to see Nicky now?"

"Yeah," she smiled lightly, "oh, and, uh, I went and saw Leon today…"

"How's the old man?" He asked as she lightly slapped his arm, crossing her arms over her chest.

"He's good…he said he hasn't seen you in a little over a year. He wonders how you've been…" she said, retelling some of what Leon and her spoke of when she visited him. Aiden looked down, obviously aware of his lack of _socializing _with the people he cared about in the past year since his niece's death. Even his own sister and his nephew. Aiden shook his head before looking at Shaw.

She always knew and she always could tell what he was thinking about. She understood him, of all the people he knew, even his sister, she understood how he worked and what made him tick. But she also knew when to speak and what to tell him, which is why he wasn't surprised she'd spoken of Leon but hadn't pressed the matter more.

"I'm gonna go now…" she said softly, giving him one last look before getting inside her car as she put the key in the ignition. She stared at the steering wheel for a few seconds before looking up, pressing a button as the window rolled down. "Hey, uh…whenever you wanna talk, uh…"

As she trailed off he finished her sentence, speaking low as he said, "I know where to find you…"

Her lips suddenly parted in a smile as she nodded, "You do."

Seconds of silence later, she closed her window and drove off, watching as Aiden's figure grew smaller the further away she got until he completely disappeared and she was left to herself on her way to his sister's house.

* * *

Shaw entered the gated community sneaking her way inside when a car passed through. She quietly walked through the friendly neighborhood, looking from house to house and looking until she spotted the familiar house. She slowed down, coming to an eventual stop before standing still, an overwhelming amount of memories flooding her mind. She shook off whatever it was she was feeling before walking up the few stairs separating her from the door. Lifting her hand up slowly, Shaw giving the door the gentle knocks before letting it fall to her side again.

She kept her head low as the door opened, forcing her to look up at a familiar face. She obviously had not been expecting her visit judging by the look on her face, eyebrows raised and mouth open as she tried to mutter some words.

"Hey Nicky." Shaw said, speaking first as Aiden's sister finally let a smile appear on her face as she pulled Shaw into the tightest hug she had ever been given. "Whoa…hey…"

"This…is not a dream, right?" Nicky mumbled, not letting go of Shaw as the latter chuckled while shaking her head as she herself wrapped her arms around Nicky.

"Uh, no, no. I'm pretty sure this is reality." Shaw said, pinching Nicky's side as she whined. "Does this help?"

"Nope."

Shaw slightly pulled back, giving a shrug of her shoulders as she smiled, "Well, I tried."

Nicky stared at her in amazement before stepping aside, "Well, geez, come inside." This elicited a chuckle out of Shaw as she stepped inside Nicky's house, the feeling of familiarity sinking into her body as she looked around the house she hadn't visited in two years.

Nicky guided her inside the house excitedly while explaining that Jackson was at school and was not going to be back for a couple of hours, and making sure to let Shaw know how excited he would be to learn she was back in town. She could only smile at the image of the young boy she had last seen when he was about to turn eight, having gone weeks before his birthday much to her dismay now.

"Want something to drink?" Nicky excitedly asked, still in disbelief of having her standing in her kitchen after being gone for two years.

Shaw gave a tiny nod, a smile tugging at the corner of her lips, "Uh, water sounds good."

She watched her friend go on about in her kitchen as she got a glass and filed it with fresh water. Nicky had changed in the last two years, that's for sure. Physically she was still the young attractive woman she had always been, the only physical change she noted on her being the length of her hair as it now was longer than the short bob she formerly wore the last time they had seen each other.

Nicky turned around, two glasses of water in hand as she headed towards her and sat down, handing Shaw her glass, "Here."

"Thanks." Shaw smiled, quickly taking a sip of it before speaking. "I don't see that husband of yours around…" she grimaced at the image of him, watching Nicky chuckle at her grimace.

"We got a divorce." Shaw nearly choked on her own saliva as she coughed her way through the surprise. "Just after you left actually…"

"Well, well," Shaw took it upon herself to take another sip of water, "that is indeed some…good news I take? I mean, for you at least…how did Jacks take it?"

Nicky chuckled, "I felt great once it was finalized…" she paused, "Jacks was sad but…we tried explaining to him that sometimes people still care but just don't love each other the same way they did before…and he knew his dad was always on the road. He took it better than I thought. Lena did too…"

She trailed off into silence, "I'm guessing you heard…"

"I kept track of the news when I saw the article about the accident…" Shaw explained, "and I wasn't gonna pay it any attention but I recognized the car…" she mumbled, looking down at her glass of water before looking back to Nicky.

"He blames himself, you know," Shaw frowned, "Aiden."

A long, heavy sigh left Shaw's lips as her shoulders slumped in the slightest, "Of course he would do that to himself…"

"I told him that it was about moving on and that I didn't blame him, but he keeps beating himself up about it…he doesn't allow himself to move on." Nicky exclaimed, obviously emotional over her brother destroying himself out of the guilt he felt.

Shaw reached out, a hand grasping Nicky's as she gave it a comforting squeeze, "It's Aiden, you know? He won't allow himself to move on until – until he finds out what happened."

"The cops said he was drunk…" Nicky mumbled, shaking her head. "He wouldn't do that."

Shaw's jaw clenched, "He'd rather be stranded in the middle of nowhere than to drink and put the kids in danger…that's a load of bullshit," she scoffed, "he would never drink at the wheel."

She knew Nicky was aware that her brother would never purposely put Jacks and Lena in danger just for a drink. Anyone who knew Aiden well enough knew that as much as the man enjoyed a drink once in a while he was never one to drink if he knew he was going to be driving at all, especially if his nephew and niece were going to be in the car with him. He did not care if he ever was injured, as long as his family never was.

That was Aiden in a nutshell. A caring man who would hurt the world before anything ever happened to his family, no matter how bad of a person that would make him look like. Some people's morals depend on what's considered right and what's considered wrong in todays world. Others morals would change depending on a paycheck. Some wouldn't have any morals. Aiden's depended on the safety of his family.

Whether that made him a good man or not, he could not care less.

_What does he have in mind now? _Was all Shaw could think of as she gave another squeeze to Nicky's hand, earing a small smile from the woman she had grown to think of as a sister over the years.

_Revenge? _Maybe.

Whatever it is he was going to try to do, the one thing she hoped was that it would not bring more pain onto his family after they'd suffered more than enough.

"Have you seen him?" Nicky's voice interrupted her thoughts as she shook her head out of them, her eyebrows raised as she added. "Aiden."

Shaw nodded, leaning back into her chair as she let go of Nicky's hand, "I did…actually..," she paused, chewing the inside of her cheek before answering, "just before coming here."

"How'd it go?"

She gave little rapid nods, "It went okay…considering." She said, her nose crinkling a bit. "We're planning to talk soon…"

"Are you ever gonna tell me why you left for so long?" Nicky asked.

Shaw sighed, "I was waiting for you to ask."

Nicky grinned, "I just did…"

This elicited a chuckle out of Shaw, "I had a tough time coming to terms with Brett being gone…I, uh, I had a breakdown." She crossed her arms over her chest, as she swiped her tongue over her lower lip. "Needed to clear my head so, I went home…I shouldn't have just gone the way I did though."

"A call would have been nice," Nicky said before quickly adding, "but I get it. I'm just glad you're okay and that you're back."

Both women smiled, "You _are_ back, right?" Shaw nearly barked a laugh out before nodding, her eyes brightly looking back at her.

"Yeah, I'm back."

Nicky turned around to look at the clock hanging on the wall, turning to glance back at Shaw, "You wanna stay for dinner?"

"I should probably go…" Shaw began.

"Are you sure you don't wanna stay?" Nicky asked, standing up just as Shaw was doing the same.

Shaw smiled, gently grabbing and squeezing Nicky's arm, "I want to...I just have some things to take care of first."

Nicky slowly nodded, "Okay, well...make sure you come and see Jacks! He'll be so happy to see you."

"Of course!" Shaw promised. "Does he come around often? Aiden I mean..."

Nicky slowly shook her head, "Not really..." She looked down before glancing up towards Shaw. "He hasn't been here in a year…he still blames himself."

"Yeah..." Shaw mumbled under her breath. "I'll talk to him...get him to come by when I do."

"Oh! You, you don't have to...!"

"I know...but it's Aiden, and I may be able to convince him." Nicky gives a small smile.

"Thank you." She says as Shaw gives a small shrug. "He always listened to you more."

Shaw frowned, as Nicky was quick to explain further, "You always kept him on his toes."

This caused Shaw to grin, "I didn't give in to him too quickly either." Nicky chuckled. "Take care, yeah?"

"You too and be safe." She was about to close the door before speaking again. "Oh, Jacks' birthday party is tomorrow…you're welcomed to stop by if you want? It would mean the world to him."

"Of course."

Shaw smiled as she exited the house, heading to her car and taking her place in the driver's seat. She sighed, reaching for her phone before shaking her head in a discouraged manner.

"He won't tell me where is even if I asked nicely…" She muttered to herself, her lips pursed as she looked down at the brightly lit screen. She began working away on it, a serious expression etched on her face. "Let's see if I still remember what you taught me."

* * *

_The Owl Motel. Cozy, I guess. _She thought, removing her keys from the ignition as she stepped out and looked at her surroundings. She'd barely ever been on this side of town, analyzing the area just as she did with any place she went to in case of emergency. In case she ever needed a quick escape route. She brought her phone out and looked at the map, the indicator still unmoving inside of the rooms as she scouted the ground floor before heading up to the second floor.

She eventually reached the room where she knew he would be, looking around before a heavy and shaky sigh left her lips. Shaw gently knocked on the wooden door, giving it three light knocks as she slightly stepped back with her hands in the air, her phone visibly placed into one. As soon as she'd done so the door opened, revealing an armed Aiden and his weapon pointed directly at her head as he lowered it when he set his eyes on her.

"Can I come in?"

He moved aside as she slowly stepped inside the room, "How'd you find me?"

Shaw only raised her hand, her phone securely in it, "I still remember the few tricks you taught me."

"What are you doing here?" Aiden snapped his eyes shut as the words left his mouth, the tone of his voice not being what he'd expected or wanted. "I'm sorry."

She gave a light smile, "I just came from Nicky's place." He nodded as she continued. "You haven't been there often, have you?"

He sighed, "I'm just asking, Aiden...I'm not reprimanding."

"I've been busy." Shaw rolled her eyes but only sighed, her shoulders slumping a bit as she then gave a shrug.

"Okay...what have you been busy with? Oh, this, huh?"

She'd stepped around him and walked to the board where a map, pictures, files and notes were hung, but Aiden stopped her, "I'm just looking..." She said as he let go of her arm.

Aiden watched as she walked around the room, looking over the board slowly as she sometimes lingered on a picture or a file, "Who's this?" She asked as she pointed at the picture of the man Aiden had captured not long ago.

"Maurice."

"Why is he on there?" She wondered, gently touching the picture before giving it a flick of her finger as she turned to look at Aiden.

"He caused the crash." There was a raise of her eyebrows. "I assume Nicky told you…"

"We spoke of it. I learned most of it through the news…but you and I know that's complete bullshit." She explained, glancing back at the board. "What are you trying to find out?"

He looked away for a few seconds before meeting her fixed gaze, "Who ordered the hit and the real reason why."

She swiped her tongue over her lower lip, then pressing her lips together as she contemplated her next words, "What happened to Damien?" Aiden's nostrils flared as he turned his back to her.

"Remember how I told you we wanted to hit something bigger?" Shaw looked down to her right as she tried remembering. "Well, we did."

Her whole body snapped around to hurry towards him, "You did?" Aiden had wanted to chuckle at her surprised tone but was able to remain passive at her reaction. "How big?"

"The Merlaut." Her wide-eyed expression as well as the surprised scoff had him smirk in the slightest as she stepped closer to him.

"But?"

"There was another hacker…Damien was too damn curious and wanted to find out who the other hacker was …" he trailed off.

"Stubborn as a mule," she paused, "and a greedy son of a bitch."

Aiden only nodded.

"The freaking Merlaut, huh?" She asked, allowing a small smile to appear on her lips. "That's bigger alright."

"He was ambitious."

"Too ambitious I bet."

She shook her head, looking back at the wall before frowning as she took a few closer steps while squinting to get a better look of what was written, "Jordi Chin helping you, huh? Surprised you two haven't killed each other yet…how'd you hear about him anyways?" She didn't remember telling Aiden of Jordi. She had learned from the lead Fixer that Aiden had gotten in contact with him a few months back, but that was a far as she knew.

It was Aiden's turn to scoff, "You mentioned him a few times, not to me but I remembered. I needed some help."

She couldn't help the look of disbelief from plastering on her face as she spoke, "And…you thought of Jordi?"

"I didn't know." He added as she threw her head back with a sigh.

"Obviously not. I probably should have warned you." She said, Aiden crossing his arms as he looked down at the petite woman.

"You weren't here." He answered, his words leaving too quickly yet again for his liking as he closed his eyes and clenched his jaw.

"Ouch. Twice in one day." She said, sighing as she pursed her lips. "I do deserve it though."

"Shaw…"

She raised a hand, stopping him, "No, I do…" she paused, "uh, I should probably go…" She made a move to head for the door but Aiden stepped forward, just slightly blocking her way in no forceful manner but enough to have her stop dead in her tracks.

"Shaw, I…" He trailed off when she looked up at him, her eyes pleading with him to not make it more difficult as his shoulders slumped. She knew she basically did not deserve for him to make it easy for her but he could not help himself, not when it came to her. She always made things harder for him. She gave him what she hoped was a smile enough to make him believe she was alright, that there were no hard feelings. And there were no hard feelings, but it did not mean it was not going to hurt any less. "Where are you going now?"

She looked down, from left to right, "Uh, home…well," her nose crinkled and lips pursed, "I'm gonna make a small detour and I'm gonna try to find where Jordi is, I haven't seen him since being back…"

"He's in the Loop…it's where he stays I guess." Aiden informed her as she nodded, thanking him in the process of walking past him and out the door before stopping to face him one more time.

"Aiden," he looked up, "whatever it is you're doing, or…planning to do, I know you'll do anything to get some answers, I know you enough to know that. Just…be careful, yeah?"

His lips parted, blinking rapidly as he shifted from one foot to the other, "I will."

"Okay." It came out as a whisper loud enough for him to hear as she made to leave but stopped yet again, catching his attention. "Oh, and it's Jacks' birthday party tomorrow…I'm sure they'd want you there too, just thought I'd remind you…"

"Hm." He nodded.

"Stay safe, Aiden." She said, leaving the motel room and leaving the area to head towards the Loop district in the hopes of finding the lead Fixer she had not seen in a long time and the only person she remained in touch with while gone.

_I'm gonna regret this._

* * *

Shaw had been standing in the dark familiar alley for almost half an hour now, still waiting on the lead Fixer to arrive if he ever would do so. His usually punctual self was not aware of her paying a visit to him, so she would not blame him for not having arrived quite yet, but she was not going to deny hating to wait for someone.

She stopped pacing around when a car's headlights came into view, driving down the alley in her direction as she squinted in an attempt to make out the driver, but without success. The car slowed down as it came to a stop a few meters from where she stood, the door opening as the car still ran to reveal the man she'd been waiting for.

With raised arms, he spoke, "As I live and breathe!"

"Took you long enough." She said, a small smile on her lips. "The hell have you been?"

He approached her, waving a hand around, "Oh, here and there, you know. Keeping myself busy. A man's gotta work to keep my kind of reputation alive."

She scoffed, rolling her eyes as she smiled, "Of course."

He made a gesture for her to follow him inside as she shook her head, following him as they entered his 'office' area. Nothing had changed from the last time she had been in this room, it was still very Jordi-like…over the top. Eccentric. _Some things don't change. _She glanced to her right where some monitors were hanging on the wall. She stepped closer to take a better look, her eyes jumping from split screen footage to the other before her eyebrows furrowed in recognition of one particular piece of footage.

It was a beaten man locked in a room by himself, sitting in the corner of the room and shaking, looking around and seemingly speaking to himself as he did so.

"Is that…?" She pointed to the screen as Jordi lazily glanced to the image.

He shrugged, taking his gun out to clean it, "Oh that? It's Pearce's plant, Maurice…he needs him for something and I'm the one, uh, _kindly_ keeping an eye on him…"

She cocked an eyebrow, "He's paying you, Jordi."

"So what? A friendly favor is a friendly favor, even if one pays for said favor." He said.

"Your meaning of friendship is-"

"Touching?"

"Twisted…"

He squinted before shrugging his shoulders, "Oh well," he said, plopping himself on his chair, "there are no real friendships anymore, everything is all so _twisted_…one minute you're singing their praises and the next you're stabbing them in the back. Why not make some profit off of it?"

She shook her head, "Always working for a paycheck, huh?"

"Eh, you know me…where the money goes, I follow." Jordi casually said, looking up at her with a sly smile.

"You haven't changed one bit. And that's a compliment…by the way." She said, unsure if he'd take it as a compliment, but when he gave her a smile she knew he'd taken it the way she had hoped he would.

"I take it Pearce went and paid you a, uh, _visit_." He stated more than he asked, glancing at her as she began pacing around. "Oh, don't start this pacing _thing_ you do, it gives me a headache and I have a gun in my hands, so I get a headache and I might be _tempted_…"

She crossed her arms, facing him as she cocked a hip out and glared at him, "Fine." She huffed, annoyed. "And yes, he 'paid' me a visit."

"How'd it go?"

Shaw pursed her lips, "Do you care?"

"Eh, not…really." He bluntly said, looking at her with as innocent a look she would ever see on this man.

"Then don't ask." He gave a small shrug, eliciting a sigh out of Shaw's lips. She approached Jordi's desk and leaned on it, catching the fixer's attention as he glanced up the young woman with raised eyebrows. "How fucked is he?"

"Oh, if he continues? Beyond fucked."

_Shit._

* * *

**So there it was! First chapter! Whew. It's always nerve wracking putting a new story out like this, especially when I first posted my other one when there was only 6 or 8 Watch Dogs stories on here and now I know the characters more since I've played through the game twice now. At least I'd like to think I know them better now. I know you don't know much about my OC but I just don't want to throw all of her back story at you because...now, that would be boring wouldn't it? But you will learn more about her. **

**This story IS going to follow the game closely enough but I'm still going to try to make it as interesting and original as possible while keeping the plot present. **

**Constructive comments are well appreciated. Please do not bash. If you don't like, don't read. **

**Do not be afraid to message me if you wish to speak to me about the story, I'm very open about this =D**

**R&R! **

**Hope you liked it! =)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello everyone! Just over ten days I believe and this is CHAPTER TWO of this story! I huge 5000-something word chapter. Whew! I really want to thank you guys for being so nice with all the favs and follows! This is so encouraging as a writer, to see people liking your story...well, I hope you do =P For the two reviews I got, THANK YOU! Whew, what a relief to know you enjoyed this first chapter =)**

**Nina Vale and CantCatchTomorrow, I thank you both for the nice reviews. To Nina Vale: I am damn happy to be back AND inspired for this =D I will admit that I am not a shipper of Aiden/Clara at all BUT I do like the interactions these two had in the game, the relationship they developed was interesting and I did look forward to their scenes. Characters are what I'm about so I need to pay lots of attention =P I miss SI too and don't worry, not abandoning it at all. Thank you for the review, you are awesome! **

**CantCatchTomorrow: Glad you liked the first fic and more than glad that you seem to like this one so far =) And the best thing to hear is when someone says they like your OC, thank you! As I said just above I like Clara and her interactions with Aiden but not as a couple. I hope you continue to like Shaw! I'd like to think I know what I'm doing and you tell me I am makes me breathe easy =) Thank you, you are amazing! **

**As usual, Watch Dogs and its characters don't belong to me but all belong to Ubisoft, I'm simply borrowing them! OCs are mine! **

**Legend regarding FLASHBACKS and thoughts, although it's pretty easy to understand: Random** _italics_**in a paragraph is a thought. But **_full lines, paragraphs and dialogues_** are Flashbacks. **

**I want to say thank you to my dear friend MissAlisterCroft for being the bestest of people and helping me out! Here we go! Enjoy!**

* * *

Watch Dogs_

BY ANY MEANS NECESSARY_

**Chapter 2_**

"_Hey, we're closed."_

"_Not for me, you're not." Leon's head snapped up at her voice and he broke out in a smile as he dropped what he was doing, hurriedly heading her way as he embraced her in a hug. She chuckled and returned the embrace tightly._

"_Hey Leon." _

"_The hell have you been?" He asked, stepping out of the embrace as he took a good look at her. _

"_Away." _

_He swatted her over the head as she winced, "Very funny. Now sit down and talk to me."_

_She followed him and they took a seat in one of the many booths, "How've you been, Leon?" _

"_I'm good, I've been good. But you, young lady, had me worried."_

_She chuckled, dropping her head before looking at the gentle old man in front of her, "I'm sorry…I didn't mean to…" she trailed off for a few seconds, "but um, after losing Brett I just, uh, I just kinda had a breakdown really…"_

"_I heard," he spoke, "well, I was told."_

"_Aiden." Leon nodded. "Yeah, well, he had no idea of where I was for those two years. I'm pretty sure he knew why though."_

"_He looked awful when he came by to tell me." Her breath caught in her throat. She'd surprisingly never given a thought about how he had been after Brett died and after she had left. It had been abrupt on her part but the panic, fear and grief drove her away. "I'd never seen him that way."_

_Leon suddenly stopped when he noticed her look down, her lips slowly parting, "I drove for hours…until my car ran out of gas and then I got a room in a crappy motel. The next day I found some gas and I drove some more."_

"_When did you stop?" _

_She made a small grimace, "After a while…"_

"_Where'd you go?"_

_She heavily sighed, "Home."_

_He frowned, confused, "I thought you were from Chicago…"_

"_Fooled you, huh?" she smirked, "I'm from New Haven in Connecticut. It's where Brett and I lived until we left." _

"_Not too close." He said._

_Shaw nodded, smiling lightly, "But not too far either…I didn't even realize I was driving home until halfway through the second day. It took me three days…longest three days of my life."_

"_What did you do then?"_

_A heavy sigh escaped her lips, her shoulders lifting then dropping, "Tried moving on."_

_Leon frowned, leaning forward as he dropped his head in the palm of his hand, "But you came back…"_

_She leaned back in her seat, smiling to herself as she opened her mouth to speak, "I…I thought there was nothing left for me here once Brett died…"_

_He cleared his throat, mimicking her posture, "What's here that you couldn't find over there?" Her lips pressed into a thin line, a strand of hair falling loose as she delicately moved it aside and looked up to hold his gaze. _

_And with a small shrug of her shoulders and a shake of the head, she said, "Everything." _

The buzzing sound interrupted the memory of her encounter with an old friend of hers and Aiden's, reaching for the phone to take a glimpse at the lit screen and then furrow her eyebrows in confusion.

_"_I'm here._" _

She couldn't help but frown, wondering why he wasn't quite stepping in yet. She walked up to Nicky and placed a delicate hand on her shoulder to get her attention, gently smiling at her when she turned around.

"He's here," she brought the phone up, "but I guess he wants to talk first...gimme a minute?" Nicky nodded as Shaw stepped away to go look out front where she thought he was but before she could even reach the side of the house that led there she came face to face with Aiden himself. Bringing a hand to her chest in surprise she closed her eyes but chuckled nonetheless. "You scared me..."

"Sorry..." He said as he looked just over her shoulder, able to see Nicky and Jackson sitting at the table in the yard. She looked at him, standing there with a cocked hip and a hand placed right on it. "I know what you're gonna say..."

"You're late." Was all she said. Aiden had guessed from the small smile on her face that she wasn't particularly angry or that she was even berating him for being late, she was simply stating it because she knew he needed to hear it even if he claimed he hated it.

Aiden, again, looked over her shoulder back at his sister and nephew as he asked, "How are they?"

She glanced back before looking at him, "They're good...I think it did Jacks some good to have friends around." She watched as he nodded, his lips falling into a thin line. "What's going through that head of yours now?"

She nudged him a little when she asked that, causing Aiden to smile just a tad, "How are you?" He asked as Shaw gave the smallest of smile too.

"I'm good. It was really nice to see Jacks again...it was nice to see you too..." She trailed off, looking into his green eyes with her own odd ones. Aiden always had that feeling that he was looking into the ocean and the forest in her eyes, the fact that both held two different colors always captivated him. She could not help the smile that tugged at her lips as she took a small step towards him, "Come here."

That's when she pulled him into a embrace, tightly wrapping her arms around his mid section as he wrapped his around her shoulders and brought her closer into him as they embraced for a few seconds. Aiden looked ahead of him to see his sister looking straight at them with the ghost of a smile as Aiden leaned out of the familiar embrace.

"You know you can come to me whenever you need it...right?" She said loud enough for him to hear.

"I'm fine. I re-"

"Stop the 'I'm fine' crap…" she cut him off, "I'm not asking, Aiden...I'm telling you. If you are ever in need of my help...you call me."

No one close to him like Nicky or Shaw were aware of things he continued to do, the life he continued to lead behind their back. It didn't matter if Shaw had just returned, she probably had been told by Nicky that he was trying to move on. But he knew her well enough to know she didn't buy it. She knew he couldn't move on until he avenged Lena.

"Alright." He said, watching as she slowly nodded. She reached for his arm and tugged gently.

"Come on." She said, tugging him again as they began walking into the yard. Nicky was tickling Jackson as they fully came into view and she looked to them with a small smile. She whispered something to her son as she started walking towards them, Shaw meeting her in the middle.

"Keep an eye on Jacks, yeah?" Nicky mumbled as Shaw nodded, glancing back to Aiden as she left the siblings alone. She went and sat on the table, looking down at Jacks.

"Hey, you okay there, bud?" Shaw asked Jacks as he was looking over his gifts with a saddened expression.

He nodded, looking up at her then back at his uncle.

She brought a hand to Jacks' head before grabbing his chin to make him look at her, "Your uncle Aiden and I are…fixing things right now. We're friends…ish."

Jacks frowned, not understanding what she meant as she elaborated.

"It means…we're friends but there are still some things we need to talk about to fix everything, yeah?"

Jacks slowly nodded, seemingly understanding what she meant. She smiled at him just as his mother called him, motioning for him to come and say 'hi' to his uncle. He looked up at her then made his way, a gift in hand, towards his mother and his uncle. She followed behind as she stopped to stand next to Nicky as they watched Jacks stop a few steps away from Aiden, looking up to him with wide eyes and a small smile.

"Sorry I'm late. Can I, uh, can I get a hug?" Aiden asked as he knelt down to Jacks' level as Jacks went in and tightly wrapped his arms around his uncle. Nicky glanced at Shaw as they both smiled. As Aiden pulled out of the hug he took a closer look at Jacks with an amazed look. "Wow. You are…big!"

Aiden stood up, motioning to what he was holding in his hands, "So hey, what do you got there?" Jacks handed him the gift his mother got him as he looked at it. "Wow! The Healer…cool!"

He then turned to his sister, sparing a quick glance at her as he spoke, "You got him a real toy, huh?"

Nicky shook her head, grinning as she turned to her son, "Why don't you bring up your toys in? I'm gonna speak with your uncle…" Jacks nodded and Nicky added to Shaw, "mind helping him?"

She shook her head, smiling, "Of course not. C'mon bud, let's bring those toys in your room…" He smiled at her as she followed the young boy, helping him gather his toys as they brought them in under the eyes of the two siblings until they disappeared inside.

Nicky sighed, looking at her brother, "You seem okay with her being back…" She stated, crossing her arms over her chest. "Jacks certainly is…so am I…"

"I'm good, Nik," he glanced at the house, "we still need to talk, but I'm good." She nodded.

"This matters…you being here." She started, "I just need to make sure things are different."

_Different, _Aiden thought. No matter how much he'd tell himself that things were different, that things had changed.

They really hadn't.

* * *

"_Everything, huh?" Leon asked, crossing his arms and leaning further back into the booth with eyebrows furrowed. "Why now? Two years later…"_

_She drew in a breath, her shoulders lifting and then slumping just in the slightest as her lips parted, "I needed my time to mourn…I mean, my whole freaking life changed and I lost it. I needed something I thought I could find out there, back home and yeah, sure, I was able to clear my head…"_

_She stopped dead in her track, her lips falling into a thin line as her jaw clenched and she found herself biting onto her tongue. _

"_But?" _

"_I searched for a long time to find…nothing. Can you imagine how disappointing that is? To think you know what you're looking for and where, but that in reality it's just a major dead end waiting to happen…" She explained, remembering the last two years as she picked at the skin around her nails and bit onto her lower lip, briefly looking up to her friend. "When it hits you…it hits you hard. I didn't expect that, but I-I should have known, you know?" _

"_You couldn't have known…" Leon said, his tone filled with what he hoped was comfort, "you can't know everything, and you sure as hell can't predict the future…shit happens and you're gonna have to fight through it, and you're strong…I know you'll be fine."_

_She looked up and stared at the man who gave her a chance all those years ago, a small grin with teary brimmed eyes, "That was some cheesy stuff there…" She chuckled, quickly wiping away the tears that still threatened to fall while Leon leaned forward and delicately grabbed her hand, holding it in his tightly as he gave it a squeeze. _

"_But I'm right and," he paused, smiling at her, "we both know how you hate when I'm right and you're not."_

"_Pfft, yeah, whatever." She mumbled, looking at their hands and allowed a smile to spread on her lips before nodding. "I guess I shouldn't have left, huh?" _

_A kind smile appeared on his face, "A call would've been nice…" he began, Shaw's reflex being to roll her eyes as he continued, tilting his head to the left, "but you had to leave. That time away did something to you, something you needed…I can see it, I just don't know what it is yet." _

_She inhaled then exhaled, blinking rapidly and confusingly as she breathed, "Me neither." _

"You are checking the _locks_!"

She snapped herself out of her _reverie_ when Aiden's voice tore through the silence, Shaw able to hear it vibrate from outside the house as she frowned and set the bag of trash down before heading inside where Aiden opened the door as Nicky spoke.

"I think it's a good idea."

The door slamming had her jump, her eyes closing momentarily as she reopened them to look at a heaving Nicky. She glanced to Jackson before looking back at Shaw, lips tightly pressed together before the latter turned around to grab her jacket as Nicky asked her what she was doing.

"I'm going after him, Nik, look," this caused his sister to intently listen, "take a few minutes to yourself and then…call him. I just—I just need to talk to him, okay? I'll call you afterwards."

She didn't give Nicky the time to answer before she jetted out of the house, quickly finding her car keys before heading inside it to chase down Aiden. She rapidly removed her phone out of her pocket and tracked Aiden's signal, one of the few other hacks he'd taught her, as she stepped on the pedal, her car speeding off.

"Come on, come on." She mumbled, dangerously swerving between cars as she followed the visibly fresh tire tracks imprinted on the road. She knew she could not be too far behind him, he had been gone no more than a couple of minutes and she was right on his tail.

It was not long before she entered the city, soon surrounded by skyscrapers as she took note of the panicked state of citizens around. Some cars were piled up, citizens helping passengers out while most were either on the phone contacting the authorities or filming the chaos. _Jesus, Aiden…the hell are you doing?_

It was fairly easy following the chaos he was causing on the streets. Fallen lights, injured people and piled up car, signature car chase evidence. And an obvious sign of Aiden's passage.

And then her signal got louder and repetitive, Shaw briefly glancing down to her phone to see her own signal and his nearly on top of each other as she stepped on the breaks while looking up. A car was rammed into another one, a man who looked to be in his early thirties exiting the car in a jog as he disappeared in an alley. She looked back at the crash in front of her, another man exiting the car but in a run, a man she recognized to be Aiden as she opened the door to her car, standing behind it as she called out his name, but received no response.

He quickly followed the first man down the alley, causing a frowning Shaw to grunt as she grabbed her keys and closed the door before running after him while keeping her distance. She knew he went after the guy, it was typical Aiden but for what reason he caused all this ruckus, she was still in the dark. He was never this reckless.

As she rounded a corner in the alley she could hear the gunshots that were fired, causing her to hesitantly approach any further but the instant fear of Aiden possibly having been injured overwhelming her into a sprint towards the sound. She vaulted over a fence, running over to round another corner only to land in a dead-ended alley where at the very end of said alley stood Aiden.

His back was to her. Her eyes travelled down his back then shifted to his right hand, where a baton was visible. The man raised his gun, prepared to fire but Aiden was quicker as he gripped the man's arm and twisted it, then sending the man down on the ground, which had him moving so she could see his face. Not entirely actually.

It came to her as a surprise to see the bandana that was covering half his face, his green eyes the only thing visible even from where she stood. As the man struggled on the ground, Aiden brought his baton up and delivered one hit to the man as he cried out in pain. He made an attempt at fighting back but Aiden delivered hit after hit until the man stopped moving, his final grunt fading into silence as she watched a heaving Aiden standing over the man with his phone now out. He put his retractable baton away before briefly glancing up, performing a double take when he caught her eyes in that mere second.

His eyes widened at the sight of her standing there, meters away and unmoving. He could barely make out the look of pure surprise on her face, her parted lips and her raised eyebrows the only purely visible features he could see.

The sounds of sirens dangerously approaching shook him out of his trance as ran up to her, grabbing her arm and dragging her, as gently as he could, out of the backstreet.

"Do you have your car?"

She nodded hastily as they ran their way back to where she'd left her car, reentering the busy street as they b-lined for the car while Aiden snatched the car keys out of her hands, without much complaint from Shaw as they entered the vehicle, speeding away in a matter of seconds just as the police made their appearance on the scene.

"Fuck!" Aiden swore, looking in the rearview mirror as a patrol car followed them. She glanced at him then rapidly went and secured herself in place with the seatbelt before sitting back in the seat, adrenaline still pumping and only increasing at the realization they were being pursued by more police.

"To your right." She mumbled.

"What?"

"Underground parking to your right, Aiden!" She yelled as he swerved around car to then make a tight right as the underground garage door opened, Shaw noticing his phone in his hands, and they descended underground, the door closing behind them just in time to stop the patrol cars. They came out the other side, making it difficult for any patrol car to locate them but Aiden did not slow down. He only sped up, his hands tightly gripping the wheel as he anxiously would peer in the rearview mirror to make sure they were not followed and only relaxing once the search for the car was called off.

Shaw remained wild-eyed, gasping for air as she became aware that the chase was over but still remaining on edge, her mouth dry as she searched for words to speak but came up with none.

She knew Aiden. Knew enough of his past to know he had hurt, even killed, people. But _this _had never happened back then. _This is new, _she thought as she picked at the skin surrounding her nails and glanced at the man next to her. _Shit. _He rapidly did the same, taking a peek at her only to freeze for a mere second at the plastered recognition on her face. She looked away first, looking down at her lap as he continued to drive with no specific direction in sight.

_It was right there in front of me and I didn't notice…how stupid can someone be?! _Her thoughts were in shamble as they pulled into a small alley, barely allowing the car to pass as they reached a wider area where only apartment blocks surrounded them.

Another part of her was reminding her: _you can't always know everything, no matter how much you wish you did. _She knew that to be true, but to her this was beyond obvious.

The car came to a stop and they remained silent. She peeked at Aiden, watching as he was unmoving with his hands still tightly holding the steering wheel.

She found herself jumping as he moved, impulsively yanking his bandana down and slamming a hand on the wheel, something close to a curse leaving his lips as he heaved with his eyes set in front of him.

"Y…Y-You're the vigilante?" Shaw was able to get out, her voice small and hesitant almost. He turned his head, enough to take a look at her as she continued. "Oh god…yo-you are. You're the one they've been speaking of on the news and-and _you_ are the one the kids were playing as today! _Jackson _was playing vigilante not knowing he was standing in the same damn room as him hours after…Jesus Christ, Aiden…" She ran a hand over her face, in pure stupefaction.

She looked away, closing her eyes firmly before opening them again, "How long, Aiden? How long has this 'vigilante' thing been going on?"

He sighed, slightly throwing his head back, "Jesus, you-you sound like a therapist…"

"Well, maybe you should start seeing one then!" She spat, mouth shutting up and her lips falling into a thin line as he stayed quiet. _Think before speaking, Shaw. _"I'm…I'm sorry, that was co-"

"No," he lifted his hand, stopping her from continuing, "you're right…"

_Certainly not about the therapist…_she thought, giving him a once over in trying to coming to terms with him being the city's well-known vigilante.

"Then why, Aiden?! I mea-" she stopped, her lips still parted but nothing coming out as she blinked away the tears that would have fallen. Again, it was something Shaw should have known had she given any thought to connecting the dots together. But she hadn't, until now. Shaw completely slumped against the seat, a shaky breath leaving her lips. "Lena…all of this, it's about her isn't it?"

Aiden suddenly turned, ready to explain himself but came to an abrupt stop as he stared at the now buzzing phone in his hands with an annoyed roll of the eyes before glancing to the woman next to him, regrettably knowing he had to answer the call as he noticed the name on the screen. He pressed the answer button, putting it on speaker as he answered.

"What?!"

Scoffing on the other end of the line, Aiden soon received his answer, "I expected nothing less coming from Chicago's very own vigilante, especially after your last show. Look, we gotta talk."

Her eyes became wide, mouth agape with pure shock, "Jordi! You're in on _this_!?" She threw her head back into the seat and closed her eyes in utter disbelief, the lead Fixer silent for a few seconds before sheepishly answering.

"Uh, well, yeah?" A small 'pfft' left her lips as she shook her dead. "Hey, hey, don't be shaking your head like I know you are. The pay was good, what did you expect from me, huh?"

"Paycheck's a paycheck, ain't that right?" She sneered but was met with silence, turning to Aiden as she spoke. "Jordi, really? I knew he was helping you with _stuff_, but him knowing who you are, and not telling me?"

"I didn't want you in-"

"Involved, I know! You can't always push people away, Aiden!" She said, looking into Aiden's eyes as she spoke. "One day you'll need 'em and they won't be there…I-I knew, okay? I knew you were looking for answers because it didn't seem like you to just _move on_…but this? A vigilante, Aiden? Really?"

He was not surprised by her reaction. In fact, she was taking it much better than he'd expected and considering that him being the Vigilante being what had caused the most shock in this reveal. On top of Jordi being more than just _in_ on it.

All of this had escalated all too quickly. One minute he was chasing down the creep who had called his sister's house and the next, the other 'one' person he was afraid to involve in this mess had found out about the vigilante, and not in the way he would have preferred for her to find out if it had ever come to that.

He was afraid to lose someone else.

"Uh, you guys _do_ know this call is still connected…right?" Jordi broke the silence as both Aiden and Shaw glanced at each other before clenching their jaws. "This feels like it's an all too personal call right now, and I'm not sure I feel comfortable-"

"Then why don't you hang up then?" Aiden snapped, surprising Shaw as she jumped just in the slightest.

"Well, I calle-"

Aiden hung up.

"You didn't hear what he needed to tell you." Her throaty statement was spoken once he'd shoved the phone in his pocket.

"He'll call back." He answered back, his voice sounding as dry as hers.

She nodded, the tension formerly making her body stiff slowly slipping away as she deeply inhaled and exhaled. Aiden was looking at her from the corner of his eyes, watched as her eyes closed and as she breathed, in and out until all tension was entirely non-apparent in her body.

This was the Shaw he was used to. The typical human, non-involved reaction was the small panic she had in the car and them arguing, or maybe this was their past behavior slithering its way back into the situation. Nonetheless, she was back to the calm, focused woman he knew her as. The one who knew her way out of any sticky situations.

And sadly, the calm and collected Shaw was the one who would get involved. Not because she wanted to pry, or bother for that matter.

Because she cared.

"_Well, you know how you are…you're always on top of everything. Give yourself some time, kid…you just got back." Leon said as she cocked an eyebrow._

"_Kid? I'm not 24 anymore, Leon." She chuckled, running fingers through her air to untangle the knots. _

_He leaned back, letting go of her hand as he smiled proudly, "That was eight years ago…wow." She blinked, amazed at the amount of years that had passed since the first time she walked through those doors. "Things sure change…And look at you now. The usually anxious and overly excited Shaw is now cool, calm and collected…"_

_She scoffed, grinning, "I'm cool now, am I?" _

_He laughed, the same guttural laugh from prior years and never changing, "Don't get too excited there," he struggled his way out of the booth, "or else I might have to take it back. Ugh." He finally stood up, rolling his shoulder as he began walking to the kitchen_

_She chuckled softly, placing her head in the palm of her hand and leaned on it, "Don't break my heart, Leon." She watched, holding her laughter, as he glanced back at her._

"_Come on back, kiddo…you hungry?" He asked, simply turning to head back to his original destination as she made it out of the booth and followed him. _

"_Starving." She admitted, familiarly walking around the small dinner. "So," she began, watching her friend, and dare she say father figure, getting some ingredients together, "he hasn't visited at all, huh?" _

_He looked up at her, "Only the one time, after you left." He paused, knife in hand before beginning to cut a tomato, "You planning to tell him you're back?"_

_She leaned against a wall, arms crossing over her chest as she pursed her lips, "Oh, he knows," Leon frowned, "he knows I'm back." _

"_You sound sure…" He stated, looking down attentively as he cut up the tomato. _

"_It's Aiden…in our world, and it's a smaller world than you'd think, everyone knows almost everyone…" she paused, looking down at her feet and playing with a piece of cardboard that had fallen, "he'll know I'm back."_

"_You worried?" _

"_Terrified."_

_Leon looked up, watching the young woman he saw growing up for a little while biting onto her lower lip as she spoke, "I was getting out of the life before it all went to shit, you know?" She cleared her throat, fidgeting before settling in a new position, "Everything and-and I mean __everything__ was changing for us, and believe it or not but I-I was settling down…I was fucking done with it all."_

_She heard him set the knife down as he leaned on the counter, watching her as she continued, "Nicky, the kids and Aiden, oddly enough…they were my way out to have something normal, a family…" she exhaled, swallowing the lump in her throat, "Remember how Brett always went on and on about wanting to get me outta the life?"_

_Leon nodded, still watching intently when she spoke as her face wrinkled up when she scrunched her nose, "I was doing it…it's all I'd known, the '__life'__. I had my fun, my 'adventures' and my near death experiences too, but when the one thing I really wanted was just within reach…someone fucking took it away." _

_A unsteady breath left her lips, "But now," her lower lip trembled, her breathing still unstable, "I come back here and all I know is that life…and," she stopped, a short smile tugging at the corner of her lips, "and I'm okay with it."_

"_It __is__ all I've known and I'm not bad at it." She added, needing to remember the skills and how capable she had been back then as she glanced up at the man before her, man who wore the most worried expression she'd ever seen on his face. "So, that's okay with me."_

"I'm in, whatever it is you're doing, Aiden…I'm in." Aiden was about to protest but she stopped him, quickly placing a hand on his arm. "I wanna help you in _anyway_ I can!" She insisted, Aiden grunting as he pinched the bridge of his nose and threw his head back.

"Shaw," he began as she readied herself to argue, "this…this is not like before and-and what happened to Lena-"

"Won't happen to me." She cut him off, knowing all too well this was not a promise she could keep, because just like him she didn't know. "Look, I-I just want you to know that whatever help I can provide, and I mean _whatever_ help…I'm here."

He looked at her, watched the intensity in which her eyes stared into his and the determination behind it as he sighed. He did not wanted her involved for personal reasons, and feelings, but he was aware that she would not let that make her walk away from this. _I could use all the help I can possibly get…_He hated admitting it. But he would need it.

He felt her squeeze his arm, her lips parted, "Just…no more hiding, yeah? I won't be in your way unless you need me…okay?" He closed his eyes, shaking his head and cleared his throat, a hand going on the steering wheel as he glanced back at her just as his phone began buzzing again.

"Alright."

* * *

**Well, here we are. Second chapter: done! Whew! Well, I pretty much said everything I wanted to say up there. I'm feeling very inspired and will begin working on the next chapter soon enough but first, I need sleep. **

**I apologize for any mistakes, I'm just a French-Candian and English isn't my mother tongue. I'll fix it soon enough, I hope.  
**

**Constructive comments are always appreciated! No bashing please because if you don't like, then it's simple: don't read.  
**

**Uhhh, yes! If you ever want to just chat about the story or about life, or anything well please do =) I don't bite! **

**I hope you enjoyed this! Love you all guys! **

**R&R! Reviews are loved and motivating! =P**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello everyone! It's been over a month since I last posted and I apologize for that. I've had a very busy summer so far. I've been looking for a job and now that I have one, I can finally adjust to all that is happening and continue writing! This should not happen again =P **

**I wanted to say a massive THANK YOU to everyone who favourited and followed me or my story, it means a lot to me and as well to those who review! **

** Nina Vale: Yeah, she tries being there for him as much as she can but she has her faults too, which you'll see from time to time throughout this story. She's used to the life but not this kinda life. But yes, she's as supportive as she can be =)**

** Shadow Wind: I could not believe your review when I got it. You made me tear up, seriously. I am beyond happy that you enjoy my story and hope you will continue to thoroughly enjoy it as it grows and continues =) This story began as a Aiden with a sidekick story but I quickly came to the realization that one, I didn't want that and two, I didn't like that, and I am beyond happy with the direction this story is taking. Thank you for your lovely review =)**

**I do not own Watch_Dogs. Ubisoft does. I only own my OCs. **

**Special thanks to my good friend MissAlisterCroft for the help on this.**

* * *

Watch Dogs_

BY ANY MEANS NECESSARY_

**Chapter 3_**

"_That guy, Maurice, uh…" Shaw snapped her fingers a few times trying to remember his name._

"_Vega."_

"_Right, right. Maurice Vega, that guy was hired to kill you…but he caused the crash instead." She said, speaking more to herself than to Aiden as she huffed. "Okay…and—and now you wanna find out who hired Maurice for the hit, but that guy you just…wrecked, he…" she trailed off, squinting as she looked at Aiden. _

_She sighed, her hand going at the bridge of her nose as she pinched it, "__He__ was hired by someone just to make a crank call and now that you've hacked him, you may be able to find the guy?" She removed her hand and glanced at Aiden, lips falling into a thin line before her lips parted again. "Is that about right?" _

_Aiden nodded as she slowly closed her eyes, breathing slowly, "Okay…okay." Shaw's hand blindly patted the door until she gripped the handle, opening the door and exiting the car. Aiden did not try to stop her, only watching as she walked no more than a few steps before leaning on the front of the car. He exited the car, silently closing the door before mimicking her, leaning on the car with arms crossed over his chest. _

"_What now?" She breathed, eyes down but glancing his way, without ever really looking at him. _

"_I'm gonna go and find this guy…" He trailed off, watching her nod with her eyes fixed on the ground and chewing away at her bottom lip. _

"_How? I mean…you can't be doing all of __this__," she lazily waved a hand around, "on your own! And do __not__ try to convince me that Jordi is __actually__ helping you…I won't believe it."_

_Aiden closed his eyes, tilting his head slightly back, arms crossed, before looking down, his eyes now staring at the ground, "I'm not…" she'd frown, her lips tightly pressed together, "alone." _

"_The who's helping you? Aside from me now." She emphasized on the 'now' as she fully turned her head to look at him. _

"_I've got an…affiliate." He glanced at her, Shaw's eyebrows raised as she motioned for him to continue, but he remained quiet._

"_An affiliate…?" _

_Aiden rolled his eyes, fidgeting a bit, "He works with Dedsec," he noticed her jaw clenching and her eyes squinting, "and he's providing me with information I need."_

"_By going through ctOS?" Aiden nodded. "I thought they didn't want any affiliation with the, uh, Vigilante?" Aiden looked away, glancing at the ground yet again before letting his lips fall into a thin line._

_She took a step sideways, her lips parting just slightly before swiping her tongue over her bottom lip, "They don't know they've got one of their own siding with the Vigilante, now don't they?"_

_His lips pursed, shaking his head, "No. They don't."_

"_Can you trust the guy?" She asked, head tilted to the side._

"_I hired the guy."_

_She pursed her lips, "Yeah, but someone with bigger pockets can buy the guy, __and__ his information…" she paused, gauging his reaction, "you can't buy trust, Aiden. I don't have to tell you that." She breathed the last part. _

_He firmly held her gaze, watching as she remained calm and unmoving, "I'm getting what I need from him, and that's all that matters." _

"_As long as it doesn't come back and bite you in the ass." She said. "That's __all__ that matters." _

_A long but heavy sigh left her lips, her shoulder slumping as she rolled her shoulders, "I'll drive you home." _

"_I can drive myself home, Aiden…" She quickly retorted, grimacing at her own tone before adding. "I'll be just fine and plus, you've got stuff to do…right?"_

_He wanted to retort that it would not bother him, to drive her home, but Aiden knew Shaw well enough to know she would fight one hell of a fight before letting him do so. He cleared his throat before reaching into his pocket, his fingers finding the car keys before taking them out. He stared at them and handed them to her, watching her slowly reach for them with a firm nod. She walked around him and nearer to the driver's seat, turning back around to face him._

"_Whatever you need…" she swallowed, her lips pursing just slightly before finishing her sentence. "I'm here to help. Just gimme a call."_

* * *

Shaw pushed the door opened with her shoulder, squinting as she allowed herself to adapt to the darker lighting the evening was offering her and heading to her car, glancing around to her surroundings in order to assure herself she was not followed as she adjusted the bag hanging on her shoulder.

She felt quite satisfied with herself. This was only the fourth job she had picked up from Jordi, but as with the others, this one had gone off without a hitch. Someone like her was not going to simply return to a city and get a nine-to-five job, and live a normal life. She found herself scoffing at the thought. _Life was never normal, _she thought as she remembered the entirety of her existence as never having been normal. _Running, running, and more never staying in the same place for too long. _

She shook her head as she came around a corner where she had parked her car a little over an hour ago, but she had stopped dead in her tracks when her head had risen to take notice of the man lazily, and in someway cockily, leaning against her car.

Her first reflex was to reach for her gun but the rise of the man's hand in some sort of surrendering fashion had her squinting curiously before rethinking her decision.

"The fuck do you want, Damien?"

A look of mock disappointment plastered his features as he limped away from the car to take a few steps towards her, "I'm hurt, Shaw, really…I thought you'd be happier."

"To see you?!" She asked, offended at his insinuation of her liking him, or simply, having missed him. "From the moment you and I met…you've been trying to fuck us up."

"I needed him in the right place…" He'd smirk. "You understand that, right?"

She scoffed, "Yeah, and look where that got _you_." She gestured to his leg with a lazy hand as he glared at her, but soon regained his composure, a slight shrug of his shoulder as he stepped closer.

"Let's, uh, skip the pleasantries…" Damien said, grunting as he took a final step. "Now that you, _my dear, _are back…and that things with grumpy seem to be doing more than alright, I need you to do something for me."

Shaw scoffed loudly, shaking her head as she passed a hand over her face in disbelief, "You really are a prick, aren't you Damien?" She snarled. "You wanted me dead back then and now, for whatever _fucking_ reason, you expect me to just go along with because you, uh, you asked nicely? Is that it?"

He sneered, looking down as he smirked, "Oh, no, no. That's not just _it_…I've got some arguments that will convince you."

She immediately raised her hand, stopping him from even thinking of continuing to speak, "Forget your 'arguments'…I've got no time to listen to your bullshit." Shaking her head and stepping backwards, making a move to leave until he barked out, laughing loudly, which made her stop. "Something funny?"

"And you are supposed to be 'brilliant'…according to our favorite guy," he began, clearing his throat and continuing, "no. Nothing's funny. He hasn't told you about the whole vigilantism, has he?"

"Oh, I know…" she admitted. "I know. What I'm asking is: what does this have to do with me?"

He remained quiet, looking at her intently before speaking, "He's going to help me, but for _that_ to work…_you_ need to convince him. This is _why_ you're gonna help me."

"Like hell I am." She spat, head subtly shaking and nose crinkling in disgust. "You know, it's pretty stupid of you, _Damien_, to think that I would just willingly go and help the dickhead that you are…"

His jaw clenched, squinting as he chewed on the inside of his cheek, "You'll regret this, Shaw…I guarantee you, you will."

With a raise of her eyebrows she asked, "Is that a threat…Damien?"

"Oh no, no, no…" he began moving backwards, an all too relaxed expression plastered on his face, "no threats, but a simple warning about what...could...happen."

With pursed lips Shaw would cross her arms, waiting as he continued, "People close to Aiden get hurt, Shaw…they always do. He's a trouble magnet…" he paused, speaking louder for her to hear, "better stay away from him!"

She shook her head as he disappeared inside a car as he left, an unsure feeling lingering around as she stood alone in the alley and replayed the entire encounter in her head. _What kinda plan does he have going on? _She thought, knowing what the whole situation was about, but unaware of whatever he was scheming. _Knowing Damien…it can never be good._

She dragged her feet to the car, shoving the bag in the backseat before rapidly getting into the driver's seat and starting up the car, driving away and heading to drop the bag with Jordi, giving him a call as she drove his way.

"What?!" He answered.

"I'm headin' your way."

* * *

Days went by, leaving Shaw fixated on Damien's words. The entire discussion replaying in her head like an old record, causing her to analyze every little word until she made up an entire scenario in her head of what Damien had meant. And then she made up some more, until she ran out of possibilities.

The expression 'sleeping with one eye open' had never made more sense or had never had that much of an effect as it had in the past few days. She had been waking up every half hour, her body, and mind, aware of everything around her. Oversensitive.

_I'm being paranoid. _

Damien Brenks was the one person she never thought she would see again, the man being the one person in Chicago she truly despised. The feelings were most probably mutual. She remembered how years ago she had told Aiden about her dislike of Damien, but Aiden was learning more and more about hacking, Damien teaching him and that was the reason why she never commented on it. He kept her away from Damien as much as he could, but she kept Aiden from Damien, which the latter hated. One thing for sure about that man was that he was possessive, and greedy.

"Jesus…Thirteen years you've been in the fucking clouds and still going."

Shaw shook her head, snapping it up towards Jordi as she glared at him, "What the hell is _that_ supposed to mean?"

"It means," he paused, lips pressed together with a raised hand and one finger sticking out before pointing at her, "you just never listen to me."

Shaw rolled her eyes, "It's not like you have anything interesting to say…ever." She gave him to most unreal smile, one that nearly looked like a grimace. Jordi glared, his eyes squinting and jaw clenching before sighing, seemingly giving up on what could have been yet another argument between the both of them.

"Right." He said, crossing his arms over his chest before repeating whatever she had missed. "Driving job. Will you do it or not?"

"What is it exactly? Before I let you send me to my death…" She mumbled the last part and Jordi glared.

"It's a simple driving job. Pick up the guy, drive the guy and drop off the guy. Keep my reputation intact and you get paid. Voilà." He explained, the last word coming out as a whisper and a gesture resembling a bow, which was out of the ordinary as she raised an eyebrow.

"That easy, huh?"

He nodded firmly, "It is…that easy."

"Hmm." She squinted, grunting as she stood up from her seat. She nodded before taking a few steps towards the door. "Fine. I'll do it."

Jordi stood up, his back to her, "That," he glanced back with a finger pointed at her before turning back towards a shelf where car keys were lined up, "is what I like to hear." She intently watched as he picked up a set, her eyebrows rising as he turned around and threw them at her, Shaw just barely catching them in one swift move and sending Jordi a glare from the corner of her eyes.

Shaw raised her hand lightly, gesturing to the keys in her hands as she asked, "What's this for?"

"Uh, driving?" She squinted, sighing loudly and cocked a hip out as he rolled his eyes. "I know you'll give me hell if you have to use your own car so," he pointed to the keys in her hand with a lazy hand, "I give you…a car."

She lightly shook her head, "Thanks." She looked down then scoffed, more to herself. "I hope you're not expecting to see it again."

Jordi frowned as she chuckled and added, "The car. It's not coming back…I'm just—just warning ya."

He rolled his eyes and shrugged, heading back to his desk as he asked, "You heard from Pearce lately?"

She cocked an eyebrow, "Do you care?"

He shrugged, "Not really, but I figured this made for some chitchat."

She scoffed, shaking her head, "Aren't you nice?" She sarcastically said and he smirked. Shaw inhaled deeply, sighing as she spoke. "Alright. I'm goin'." She began making her way to the door before hearing the lead fixer call out for her, Shaw glancing back with a questioning look.

"Keep my reputation in mind, would you." He said as she controlled the urge to roll her eyes, lazily waving a hand at him.

"Sure."

* * *

With her eyes constantly on her GPS, Shaw gave herself no chance to be aware of her surroundings and where she was heading to. The street names sounding more and more familiar as she approached her target's location. _Please let this be just a pick up and drop off, and nothing else, _she thought, wishing this to be an easy job.

Her heart dropped to her stomach as she approached the large hotel, the wind blowing the scent of the water surrounding it through her open window as she raised the hoodie of her jacket to cover her head and casting a shadow over her eyes as she slowed the car down in front of the main doors. Turning the car off, leaving the keys in the ignition, she leaned back in the seat with a sigh.

The knock on her window made her jump and gasp slightly as she looked up to see a man dressed as a valet, smiling as he leaned to her eye level.

"Welcome to the Merlaut. Do you need me to take your car?" He asked nicely as she shook her head with a light smile.

"It's—It's alright. Thank you. I'm here to pick up someone…they, uh, they asked for a driver…" she explained and the valet quickly nodded, looking up and then back at her.

"Oh, yes! I'll let Mister Quinn know you've arrived." She froze, swallowing the lump in her throat as the valet left to go inside the hotel.

"Fuck…" she breathed, her hand tightening on the wheel as she snapped her head to the right and caught Lucky Quinn exiting the hotel at a slow pace, one of his goons heading in her direction as she regained her composure. The man approached her and leaned inside the window, wearing a serious expression as he spoke.

"No funny business here." He warned her as she glared from under the hood. "You need to get Mister Quinn to this location," he handed her coordinates as she slowly entered them in the GPS, "and drop him off, _and_ the car, and then you leave. The payment will come through later tonight. Understood?"

She glanced at him sideways before nodding firmly, "Yes, sir." She said, reaching for the pair of leather gloves sitting on the passenger seat and slowly slipped them on while adding. "Anything else?"

He slightly scoffed, shaking his head as he walked around to the right side of the car and opened the back door. Glancing in her rearview mirror, she watched as Lucky Quinn slowly and carefully stepped inside as he sat comfortably close to the window, the door closing and the man she had just spoken to going back around, entering to take a seat next to the infamous mob boss.

Shaw watched as Quinn's man nodded in her direction, watching her through the rearview mirror as she started the car and drove away from the hotel, and onto the road.

The drive was quiet and in Shaw's perspective, uncomfortable, but that was only for her most probably. She despised the man just as much as she dreaded him. He was far too powerful and one wrong move from her part could, and probably would, cost her much more than just money. It's why he had his henchman at his side. That was the real warning of what could happen if she did something wrong. The message had been understood.

"I was…" Shaw jumped lightly, looking in the mirror yet again to watch as Quinn spoke, "told…by your boss that I was getting the second best driver…in all of Chicago. And understand my surprise…when I saw you…" he slightly chuckled.

She swallowed, smacking her lips together, "Because I'm a woman?" She asked, being careful of her tone as to not sound hateful or rude.

She took note of his jaw clenching slightly but chuckling nonetheless as he glanced in her direction, "Yes. Most people who do this job…most of those people are men."

She resisted the urge to scoff by biting on her lower lip, "That's never stopped me from doing something I'm good at. Neither has it stopped many other women." She glanced in the mirror, seeing the corner of the old man's lips tug upward just in the slightest.

Quinn remained silent, turning his head to look out the window for the remainder of the drive and leaving Shaw wondering if she was going to be walking away or if she had just signed her death certificate. From all the rumors of this man she had heard, there was no wonder why she was this fearful as she glanced to the GPS. A sigh of relief nearly left her lips as she turned the last corner, the man sitting next to Quinn indicating for her to turn into a small alley as she gulped and did as she was told.

Parking the car as she reached the very end of the alley, Shaw turned the car off and waited for whatever other instruction she was to get if anything had changed.

"The money will be transferred tonight…" Quinn spoke, his voice breaking just in the slightest as he searched for his breath. "Tell your employer that I'm yet again satisfied…and _will_ surely call again if ever I find myself needing a…driver." He breathed, Shaw catching his glance at her as she firmly nodded. She tightly gripped the handle and pushed the door open, dangling her feet on the side and giving herself a push out of the car. She gently closed the door and began walking to exit the alley, not looking behind her until she stepped out on the street and amongst other people.

Relief washed over her as she went for her phone, dialing the familiar phone number of the lead fixer as she impatiently waited for him to pick up.

"How'd it go?" Was his choice of words as he picked up her call, Shaw's jaw clenching as she shook her head.

"You should have told me, Jordi." She paused, glancing around to make sure no one would hear her. "You should have fucking told me I was going to be driving fucking Lucky Quinn around."

He sighed slightly, "You never would have taken the job."

She scoffed, "You're right…I wouldn't! I'm not a fucking personal chauffeur!"

"Calm down, Jesus…you're alive and my reputation is intact. All is good." Jordi said before enthusiastically adding. "And on the plus side, you are getting a nice fat paycheck. That man pays well."

She stayed silent as Jordi added, "You need to remember how the job is, Shaw…it's business. You are conducting business and you sometimes have to do things you don't like."

"All for a paycheck, hm?" She mumbled, knowing he'd hear.

"Yeah." He huffed. "All for a paycheck. Listen, if you have nothing else to do right now…I need you for something else, well…Pearce and I need you."

Her ears perked up at the mention of Aiden's name, "I'm listening."

He chuckled before saying, "Meet me at Gorman Heights in two hours, patio deck…you can't miss it."

She huffed, "O-kay. Do I need anything?"

"No, no, I've got everything with me. Just show up."

Shaw was about to ask another question but Jordi, being Jordi, hung up on her as she rolled her eyes in annoyance at the man. She shook her head and walked down the street, stopping when she saw a parking lot and looking around her before heading in, finding a suitable car and breaking in.

* * *

The roar from the motorcycle's engine cut off as Aiden stared up at the building with an unsure expression, a sigh leaving his lips as his shoulders slumped slightly while dismounting the bike. He shoved his hands in the pockets of his coat, taking a few steps towards the complex and stopping dead in his tracks with a shake of the head.

_Where is he? _Aiden looked around, an exasperated expression plastered on his face. _Jordi can be a pain to work with, but he's the devil I know. If things were different, I might be hunting __him__ down—or vice versa. But…_

Aiden began walking towards the waterside entrance of Gorman Heights, his boots echoing his steps lightly as he approached. _…If he says we've got a problem, I need to take it as a massive understatement. I can't let this survivor ID me or everything is going to spiral out of control._

A grunt left his lips as he pushed himself up on one of the many ledges this establishment held, climbing the one after and the last one before stopping straight as he met the railing. The patio deck was wide, much wider than any patio deck he had seen in his life. Some toys were left lying around and to his right was a simple table with some chairs around it, but not enough to overwhelm the space.

He places his hands on the railing and vaulted over it, his feet hitting the ground with a light thud as he glanced to the patio doors and the dim lit interior of an apartment, frowning when two sitting shadows were getting clearer and clearer as he approached. The door opened. Jordi stood there with a calm expression and the corner of his lips barely tugging upwards.

"Hi."

"Aw, fuck." Jordi sidestepped Aiden, closing the door behind him. "Jordi. Who are they?" The lead fixer glanced back at him, eyebrows raised.

"Well, they live here." He explained as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Aiden resisted the urge to sigh as he asked, "What happened?"

Jordi slowed down, looking back and up at the building before saying, "Well, security in these buildings is pretty tight, so people like this feel nice and secure living way up here." He turned to look at Aiden, his hands meeting together in front of him as he continued. "I mean, these people just had a simple chain lock on their door…I guess they wanna have a good look at the pizza guy before they open it all the way."

"Alright, fine. Sure." Aiden shrugged. "So about this problem-"

"Well, that's why I brought the bolt cutters. He opens the door this much," Jordi indicated the size with his index fingers on each hand, "there's a chain right there, I slip them in and—snip. And guess what? It's not the pizza guy!" Jordi chuckled as Aiden called his name out, urging him to move onto the real issue at hand as the fixer suddenly lost his smile.

"We _are_ dealing with it. We're in the midst of solutions here Pearce…You don't appreciate what I do for you. You don't _realize_ how much I take care of you, do you?"

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"Well, do me a favor, let's get on with it. How much time do we have?" Aiden urged on as Jordi looked at his non-existent watch before shrugging.

"Not as much as we need. Oh!" He exclaimed, beginning to step away from Aiden as he got closer to the side of the deck overlooking the water. "Remember the stiff from the stadium? He's not so stiff anymore. The cops got him in Chicago lock-up and oh! He's about to walk into an interrogation and point a finger…right at you!"

Aiden took the small chair he leaned on and moved it aside as he titled his head sideways, looking at Jordi, "How'd _that_ happen?"

"Kick me when I'm down. Look at the view." Jordi pointed ahead of them as Aiden looked to it, waiting for him to continue speaking. "See there? A call went out this morning. Somebody's paying beaucoup bucks to grab this clown and make him talk, and one of _those_ guys is running the assignment."

"Well…it seems like me and him need to have a little chat." Aiden said, pulling away from the railing as Jordi pulled a rifle out, which caused Aiden to frown and wonder where he'd gotten the gun since he hadn't seen it, but preferred to ignore anything, considering it was related to Jordi.

"Yeah, but this time, don't do that empty gun _thing_…" Jordi began as he sat down on a chair he'd pulled up, "poor Maurice pissed himself after your last show."

Aiden had wanted to scoff but decided to replace his reaction with some words, "Don't worry about my methods. You know how to use that thing?" He gestured to the rifle.

"Just get your ass down there, I've got you covered and don't kill the boss this time. We kinda need him."

Aiden rolled his eyes, dropping his hands on the railing and gripping it, "You think?" He vaulted over it.

He retraced his earlier steps, going down the building this time as he let himself fall down the last ledge with a grunt, giving himself a few seconds to recover before glancing back at the deck where Jordi was now waiting. Aiden scoffed, shaking his head before looking ahead of him, squinting slightly when a figure approached the building in a jog. He stood there, waiting to get a closer look at the person before sighing in relief, a light illuminating the figure to reveal someone all too familiar.

"What are you doing here?" Aiden asked, hands in his pockets as the petite woman smirked and stopped a few inches away from him.

"Jordi called. He said you needed us." Aiden frowned just as she did too before adding. "You never mentioned me, did you?"

Aiden's lips parted as he looked at Shaw, a sigh leaving his lips before saying, "I didn't. I—I didn't want you involved, but Jordi is Jordi."

She chuckled, "He doesn't care."

They both looked down before glancing back at the other, Shaw clearing her throat before speaking, "What's going on?" She gestured to the deck where she knew Jordi was, Aiden crossing his arms over his chest before leaning back a little as he figured out the best way to word the situation.

"A loose end." He said plainly, Shaw squinting as she looked over his features.

"His or yours?"

"Ours." She tilted her head back in surprise at his answer before he added. "Mostly, he knows what I look like."

"Jordi's fault?" She wondered, crossing her arms over her chest as Aiden nodded slightly.

"'Kick me when I'm down'…his words." Aiden said, recalling Jordi's earlier words as Shaw scoffed and shook her head.

"Ah, yeah. That sounds like Jordi alright." She glanced to her feet before looking up and to where Aiden was going to be heading to. "Over there?"

He gave her a nod, "Yeah."

"Okay then." She said as she began walking towards the first ledge, looking up it and figuring out her way up as Aiden called her name out softly, but loud enough for her to hear as she turned around. "What?"

"Jordi has a few…guests up there…" he trailed off as she immediately rolled her eyes and grunted.

"Unwilling _hosts_ you mean?" She corrected as Aiden agreed with a nod, crossing his arms over his chest. "I'm not even surprised." She admitted, glancing at the ledge before stepping back, putting some distance between the ledge and herself. She sped up to it, boosting herself up with one kick and pulling herself onto it as she sat on the edge.

Shaw stood up, dusting herself off as she gazed down at Aiden with a huff, "Hey." He called out at that moment, Shaw raising her eyebrows slightly and waited for him to go on. "Be careful."

Blinking, she resisted the itch for a smile to tug at the corner of her lips as she spoke, "You're the one walking into the lion den. _You_ be careful."

She watched him, his eyes still on her before seeing the little upward tug of his lips as he nodded and took a few step backwards, fully turning his back and running down the stairs leading to the docks.

Shaw turned and climbed the last two ledges, her feet landing loudly on the deck as she grunted. She squinted, stepping closer to the patio doors where she noticed two people sitting and tied up.

"Are they still moaning over there?" She snapped her head to her right, where Jordi was sat with a rifle in his hands. "No, I'm not speaking to you, Pearce! I'm speaking to Shaw." She heard him say over the phone as he looked over at her.

"So, they still moaning?" He asked as she scoffed, approaching him.

"What do you think?! I'd be _moaning_ too if you'd broken into my house and tied me up." She lazily mumbled as she stood next to him and looked down at him, Jordi looking up at her and quirking an eyebrow as she swatted him. "Shut up and gimme the damn rifle."

He tilted his head to the left barely, speaking as he looked into the scope, "Yours is over _there_." She chuckled as she walked to her spot and sat down on a chair, picking up the rifle sitting next to it before Jordi threw some words her way. "You think you can compartmentalize long enough to not shoot every single one of them?"

"Pfft." She shook her head, raising the rifle and looking into the scope. "Admit it, it would be easier to just shoot them all and be done with this."

"Whoa there, Rambo. We've got a plan here." Jordi said, adjusting his rifle. "We need to get Pearce in, he does his, uh, _thing_ and then we deal with our other problem." He explained as she frowned.

"What…other…problem?" She asked, trying to retain her concentration on Aiden as she followed him with her rifle.

"Uhhh…it's a…long story?"

She stayed quiet for a few seconds, squinting as she fired off a shot at a man nearing Aiden before asking, "It can't be _that_ long." She said, watching the man she had shot fall to the ground as Aiden glanced back towards the building where she and Jordi were snipping from. "Spill."

"Ugh. I found Maurice for Pearce and we cornered him a few days back so he could get info out of him. Things didn't go as planned and _now_," he became silent but soon picked up where he left of, "we're here. Cleaning up the mess he made."

She scoffed, "The mess you both made, you mean."

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever."

* * *

"I know you need to get moving. We'll finish up here."

Shaw heard the line cut as Jordi and her glanced at one another before resuming their task, shooting more fixers in the hopes of giving Aiden enough time to escape the area. Through her scope she watched as he made his way to his left, prompting her to look ahead of him until she caught sight of the stairs leading up to his escape route. And close behind him was a fixer catching up, shooting at him relentlessly until she aimed her marker at his head and squeezed the trigger tight, firing off a bullet as she watched it embed itself in the fixer's head. His body collapsed to the ground, Aiden glancing back for a second before looking in their direction across the water as he ran up the stairs and disappeared onto the street.

She pulled her head back and away from the scope of the rifle, exhaling loudly as she stood up slowly and headed to Jordi, giving a slight kick to one of the legs of his chair, "We should get going."

Jordi would glance back, an expression of almost sadness lining his features as she tugged him up before adding, "Come on, now! I know you love your job but there's a limit."

"Alright…fine." He mumbled, giving a kick to the chair as he stood up. "The bag's right there." He lazily pointed to an empty bag and she rolled her eyes, taking two steps to bend and grab it, throwing it on the small table. She looked at him as they began to dismantle the rifles to fit into a simple, inconspicuous bag. Jordi zipped the bag up, Shaw reaching for it as she slung it over her shoulder.

They began their descent down, Shaw passing the bag off to Jordi as they reached the last ledge. He glanced up at her as she pushed herself off, landing on the concrete loudly and wincing at the pain shooting threw her feet as she stood still for a few seconds, regaining full painless control of her legs as she looked at him.

"Oh!" She realized, her eyes widening as she glanced up at the patio deck. "Your hosts…what're you gonna do about them?"

"Eh," he gave a shrug as he began walking away, "a simple call to the cops, complaining about the constant moaning and they'll be just fine."

A slight quirk of an eyebrow caught Jordi's attention when glancing back at her as she spoke, "You…calling the cops? Well, that's a first."

He stopped, waving a hand around, "Well, it's the…second time…actually."

Her lips parted, frowning and ready to ask him what he meant but holding a hand up, stopping him from speaking as well as herself, "You know what?" She began, blinking rapidly before giving a few shakes of her head. "I don't wanna know."

"Your loss." "My gain." They spoke at the same time, catching each other off guard as they sent a glare in each other's direction before resuming their walk, Shaw following him to his parked car.

"Oh, I asked but _you_, uh, never answered." She looked at him with her brows knit, her lips into a thin line as he went on. "How'd the job go?"

She sucked in a breath, swiping her tongue over her lower lip, "It went fine." She said curtly, not wanting to get irritated again at him. "The money should come in later on."

Jordi's jaw clenched, obviously annoyed with her lack of detailed explanation but he did not dwell on it, huffing slightly, "And _I'll_ give you a call then."

"Okay."

"Fine."

* * *

The sun blinding her as she drove down the street on her way to Nicky's completely took her by surprise, wincing and grimacing as she adjusting to the bright light of the setting sun. Shaw stopped abruptly, nearly skipping a red light and only noticing the color once she had gotten close enough.

No more than two days went by since the last job Jordi had her do. No other job had come in for her since then, Jordi most probably purposely not giving her any considering her annoyed state with the last one. _Thank god, _she thought.

She parked in front of the gate stopping her from reaching Nicky's house, glancing down to her phone and hacking the gate, having forgotten to let Nicky know she was coming over and she not answer her phone calls. The gate opened, Shaw stepping lightly on the pedal as she entered the gated community and parked her car across Nicky's house.

Calmly walking across she reached the door and her hand rose to softly knock three times on it, waiting and getting no response after a few seconds. She frowned, leaning forward to look inside as she squinted while her eyes roamed around. Shaw's gaze stopped on a piece of furniture that had fallen over, or had been pushed over, she didn't know.

_This doesn't look right, _she thought, trying to open the door and her heart dropping to pit of her stomach when it creaked open. Swallowing the lump in her throat she slowly cracked the door open, slowly stepping inside with carefulness.

"Nicky?" She called out softly. "Hey, Nik…it's me!" She began walking around as she looked from room to room, steadily increasing the speed at which she did as panic began running through her body at seeing the ruckus in and around the house. "Nicky! Jacks!"

By the time she reached the kitchen where she leaned on the counter, her hands tightly grasping the edge of it, she was panting and her eyes moving from left to right in a frenzied manner. Her head rose, looking out into the backyard where she had been a few days earlier along with Nicky and Jacks, celebrating the latter's birthday and now, they were gone.

_Aiden. _Her mind began running, her thoughts in complete shambles as she fumbled around to get hold of her phone. She dialed his number, her hands shaking and causing her to mess up, forcing Shaw to redial a few times before eventually bringing the phone to her ear.

"C'mon…c'mon, please, please, answer." She whispered, desperately waiting for him to answer as she chewed on the inside of her cheek.

"Hey." Her breath would catch in her throat at hearing his voice, halting her speaking as she spoke Nicky's name in a whisper. "What?"

She gulped, "I'm-I'm at Nicky's…" she breathed.

"Shaw…" He said her name with a rasp to his voice.

"Where are they, Aiden?" The question had finally left her lips, only to be met with silence.

_Just like Aiden. _She thought, biting down on her lower lip as she shook her head. Trying to pry information out of Aiden was more than just a task, it was a challenge. A seemingly impossible one she initially thought, but with enough effort, it could be done and that is what she had to do.

"Aiden…" She began softly.

"I'll meet you there. Don't. Move." He spoke the last two words a sternly as she had ever heard him since returning.

Aiden hung up, leaving Shaw staring at the counter for countless minutes before tightly shutting her eyes and clenching her jaw.

As odd as the thought seemed, Shaw could still smell Nicky and Jacks in the house. As if it had been just that recent since they had been in, which was more a possibility than a mere impossibility. But the comforting essence of their smell reminded her of the family she once had, that feeling of comfort and above all, this feeling you belonged. And thinking of never being able to feel this way terrified her.

She dragged herself through the kitchen, through the hallway and onto the couch overlooking the entrance, flopping on it and leaning her elbows on her legs, placing her head in her hands with a loud sigh.

The wait was unbearable.

By the time the roar of a car speeding down the street startled her the sun had set, leaving place to the darkness as she stood up rapidly to look out the window. There was Aiden, crossing the street in a jog as he walked up the stairs and made his entrance.

He immediately spotted her, stopping dead in his tracks and standing there as she took a few hesitant steps towards him, noting immediately how his shoulders were lined with tension and the scowl his face wore until he saw her worried expression. She was shaking her head, her lips parted as if she wanted to speak but nothing coming out as Aiden spoke.

"Jacks _is_ alright." Immediately her face softened, some of her worry dissipating but her features still holding onto the emotion, her eyebrows knit together as he continued. "He took Nicky."

Her worry would fade into confusion as she blinked, "He…who took Nicky?"

Aiden slowly moved, walking to the kitchen where he'd been hours prior as he leaned on the counter and stared down at the tight grip his hands had on it before slamming his fist down on it, unknowingly startling her as he breathed heavily.

"Aiden, who took Nicky!?" She said, her voice unintentionally louder than she had expected it to be as Aiden snapped his body around, the scowl still lining his traits.

"Damien! Damien fucking took her, Shaw!" He said, his voice equally as loud as hers as her eyes widened.

"D-Damien?"

He seemed to notice her shocked and horrified expression as he nodded, advancing non-threateningly on her, "Damien Brenks…" he trailed off, watching her step back with a hand going to cover her mouth, "What?"

"Oh my god…Damien, he…" She stopped, turning around and placing a hand on the wall to brace herself. Her lower lip trembled as she came to a realization, slowly turning to face Aiden. "Damien came to see me."

It was like she dropped a bombshell on him, his chest tightening at the idea of Damien now knowing she had returned to Chicago, which had been a detail Aiden was sure Damien was unaware of, until now. His head tilted to the right in the slightest, Aiden's eyes squinting and his lips parting, "What? When?"

"A…A few days ago…he," she stopped, Aiden's expectant eyes urging her to go on, "he showed up after a job I did…he was just there…Oh god, that's what he meant…"

Aiden grabbed her shoulders, forcing her to look at him, "What. Did. Damien. Say?" She remained quiet, the shock of Damien's actions still not sinking in as Aiden shook her. "Shaw, why did Damien go to you? What did he want?"

She began shaking her head, eyebrows furrowed and eyes blinking rapidly, "He…he wanted my help to-to convince you." It was his turn to frown as she continued. "To convince you to help him with whatever fucked up idea he has…" she trailed off, inhaling deeply before sighing.

"Did he hurt you?" Aiden asked, giving her a quick once over before she shrugged out of his grasp.

She shook her head, waving her hands around as if to dissipate any insinuation of him hurting her, "No, no, he didn't. He had some…empty…_threats_ directed at me, but," she stopped, jaw clenching in sudden anger as it all sank in, "I didn't think he'd go for Nik."

They both went quiet for a few seconds before she spoke under her breath, "I thought he would've gone for me…"

"He knew you'd expect it…it's too obvious coming from him. Getting to you, threatening you…" Aiden's upper lip quirked slightly as his nostrils flared, "that would've been sloppy on his part."

She nodded, looking up at Aiden, "I'm sorry, Aiden…" he snapped his head to look at her, confused as to why she was apologizing, "I should have told you, but…Damien is Damien. When has he ever done something like this before?" She scoffed, looking down at her fidgeting hands.

"Never." He said. "He knows he's not making it out of it alive…that's how far he's willing to go."

"What does he want? Do you know?" She watched as Aiden's jaw clenched as he nodded. "Well, tell me."

Aiden moved to lean on the counter, head down and arms crossed over his chest, "He wants a hard drive…" she scoffed, confused and frowning as Aiden added, "he says it'll lead me to whoever ordered the hit on us…"

Shaw made a face, "That can't be just _it_…in order to get Nicky back?" Aiden agreed as she whispered under her breath, "It's _too_ easy…"

"Yeah, well," he shifted from leg to leg, straightening up, "he's not gonna tell me anything else until I get that hard drive for him."

She watched as he glanced up to the clock, pushing himself off the counter as she recognized this to be a sign for him needing to leave, "Shit, I need to meet Clara…" he made a move to leave but noticed Shaw's confused gaze.

"Clara?" She questioned, her arms crossing over her chest. "Who the hell is _Clara_?"

Aiden shoved a hand in his pocket, avoiding her eyes, "That DedSec associate I told you about…"

"Clara?" She asked. "_He_ became a _she_?" She knew this was not the right time for this questioning, or jealousy, but her curiosity had gotten the best of her.

"_He_ was always a she…" He explained, looking like he wanted to avoid the subject for many reasons. "It surprised me just as much as you…"

She shook her head, waving her hands around, "Yeah, uh, this can—this can wait. You need to go." He watched her, standing still as he waited to see if she would say anything else. "Call me. I wanna help you find Nicky, yeah?" He nodded slowly, making a move to walk past her but stopping when he felt her hand grip his forearm.

"Shaw…" he breathed her name as she squeezed his arm.

"Just…" she pursed her lips, "just watch out. Whatever it is Damien wants…he's not gonna make it easy for you."

"I know…I know…" He said, watching the way her eyes analyzed his features as if this was the last time she was going to see him. Reaffirming how much he hated to cause worry in the people he cared about. "You watch your back too…I'll—I'll call when I get something." She nodded, giving him a tight smile and he brought his free hand to her shoulder, gently squeezing it as she let go of his arm.

Shaw watched him leave, sighing right as the door closed behind him. She began walking around the house, stopping in front of a picture of Nicky and her two children. A sad, regretful smile tugged at her lips as she took the picture out of its frame and walking out of the house, walking to her car.

She slipped inside her car, placing the picture on the seat next to her before starting her car up and driving away, anxiousness eating away at her as her hands tightened on the wheel.

Nicky was family. The closest thing she'd had to a sister. Jacks was barely a year old when she met him but he had taken a liking to her, his first nickname for her having been Auntie. Aiden had laughed at her startled face when the word left baby Jackson's mouth. Lena was different. Shaw had been present throughout Nicky's entire pregnancy, helping her with the baby clothing, the cravings and doctor appointments. If it wasn't Aiden, it was Shaw.

She bit her lower lip in order to stop it from trembling as she blinked away the tears threatening to fall. She could not bare the thought of losing Nicky. Her main worry regarding anything happening to her was for Jackson, Aiden came next and she came last.

The buzzing broke her train of thoughts, Shaw bringing her phone out and sighing, connecting the call through her car's Bluetooth system as she cleared her throat, "What?"

"Whoa, aren't you just peachy?" She grunted, rolling her eyes and pushing her tongue on the inside of her cheek as she shook her head. "Well, you'll be happy to know…your paycheck has been received."

"Okay."

"Okay? That's really all you have to say? Okay?" She could tell he would be shaking his head in disbelief. "The man wrote you—wrote _us_ a check that would have us sitting pretty until we die and all you have to say is 'okay'?"

"Jordi!"

"Alright, alright, Jesus…" he sighed, "you comin' to pick up or do I have to be the money delivery chauffeur now?"

"Ugh, I'll—I'll pick it up if it means you stop yapping." She mumbled, her car coming to a stop at a red light as she brought a hand to rub at the bridge of her nose.

"Fine." He gave up on arguing. "Just…be quick. There's somewhere I've gotta be."

"Pfft, yeah? Like what, a date?" She scoffed. "Who's the poor girl?"

"Fuck you."

She shook her head and sighed, "I gotta stop home first…I'll be there soon."

"Yeah, yeah, sure, be quick."

* * *

Shaw pulled the keys out of the ignition, getting out of her car and locking the door as it slammed shut. She glanced at her phone for the time, shrugging when realizing she better hurry to go and get her money from Jordi before he got overly annoyed at her. The man lacked patience.

She entered her house, walking around the ground floor and opening a few lights to illuminate it, an habit she'd had for years. She walked to a cupboard, taking some dog food out before shaking it, expecting the sound of paws on the hardwood floors to be heard but being met with silence, prompting Shaw to frown but filling out the bowl with food nonetheless.

"Winston!" She called out, this time filling his water bowl out and placing it next to the food. "C'mon, boy!"

She shrugged, casually moving around the kitchen and clearing some stuff out before opening her fridge, leaning forward and reaching for something, leaving her hand in as the paw noises she expected earlier finally were heard coming down the stairs.

Her nostrils flared, Shaw still glancing around the fridge before tightly gripping what she needed, "There you are. I wondered where you'd been hiding." She spoke, bracing herself before snapping her body around and slamming the refrigerator's door shut as she raised a gun, firing off one shot as one rang past her ear. Shaw crouched down and lunged at the intruder, her fist coming in contact with his jaw as he stumbled back. She went in for another hit but the man was quicker, grabbing her forearm and kneeing her in the abdomen twice as she doubled over.

"Fuck." She spat as he took hold of her hair, tightly gripping it and pulling it back for her to stand straight as he held his gun by the barrel. He glanced at it, smirking before looking back at her, taking a swing to her face as the handle hit her hard. The hit sent her to the floor, the taste of iron soon filling her mouth as she spat on the floor.

She glanced forward, seeing her gun on the ground as she attempted crawling to it. She could feel the blood dripping from her nose and mouth, Shaw barely being able to keep her eyes opened as she felt herself slowly drift off into unconsciousness but not without trying to remain awake. She heard the man scoff, soon followed by a chuckle as he kicked her in the ribs, which sent her slumping on her side in pain. The man knelt down next to her, obviously happy with himself before raising his hand, putting it into a fist and taking another swing at her.

This time, as she blinked, she was not able to remain awake as her vision became blurred, Shaw fighting as hard as she could to not fall unconscious but the pain was winning, pulling her in within seconds as it all became dark, the clear sound of voices becoming mumbles and the pain numbing away as her eyes closed.

And she fell in total darkness.

* * *

**This has got to be the longest chapter out so far! So, what did you think? I hope you enjoyed it! It's currently almost 3:30AM here and I'm exhausted so I apologize for any grammar mistake you might see. I will come later during the day to fix them but until then, I hope there aren't that many. But they will be fixed, worry not.  
**

**I spent much time on this damn chapter. I wasn't sure of the direction for a while but after some help, I was feeling much more confident in where it was going. If you ever want to speak to me about where this is going or if you'd like to know stuff, I'm actually more than willing to share =P Don't be afraid to PM me! I don't bite! **

**I inserted a scene from the game because it was going to fit and it was far too good to pass up at the same time. And it's one of my favourite scenes too =P**

**Constructive criticism is much appreciated. Just, no bashing please. If you don't like, don't be mean or simply don't read. **

**R&R! I hope you enjoyed!**


	4. Chapter 4

**HELLO EVERYONE! Again...it's been a month since I've posted and I'm sorry. No excuses other than I was busy and had little to no inspiration until today! Before we get right into it, this chapter actually is just a sort of...well, a filler. Every story has one chapter like that I feel like and this is literally very much without action. It's relaxed, sort of. Anywho. Let's move on to the beautiful reviewers!**

** Nina Vale: Yes, Damien is a dick. But I still find ways to appreciate his character, in some weird way. Haha! And regarding your question of will Clara/T-Bone be a thing? Uh, I honestly don't think so. Going according to what I think the character would do...I doubt T-Bone would adventure himself in a relationship with her at all. A one night stand? Pfft, sure yeah but an actual relationship? Had things been different then yes. But most likely, no. Sorry =S Things may change! Haha =) Thank you for that review.**

** Weirdo Named Carter & Insomniatic-Artist3 & yukiyukina89: Haha! Thank you ALL so much! I hope you like this chapter! =) **

** AllThingWeird35: Haha, I think it is pretty obvious who it was =P Thank for the review! ENJOY! **

** Sarimon: Oh wow, thank you! And yes, she's sort of a Fixer. More will be revealed about her involvement with the Fixers as the story goes on. I'm also glad you think I'm having the characters behaving like they should, which is something incredibly important to me, especially considering the amount of hours I put into analyzing every single cutscene =P Thank you so much! And you also keep being awesome! Hope you enjoy this one!**

** enigma013: I got your review today and this pumped me to no end to finish it! Thank you for that! What you said means a lot to me as I said above that characterization is ULTRA important to me. Thank you! And I'm so glad you are like Shaw =) Thank you! **

**I do not own WATCH_DOGS. Ubisoft does and I'm simply borrowing. My OCs are mine.**

**Again, a special thanks to my friend MissAlisterCroft for being a big source of inspiration in general! ENJOY!**

* * *

Watch Dogs_

BY ANY MEANS NECESSARY_

**Chapter 4_**

"Hi, you've reached Shaw. I can't come to the phone right now so, leave me a message and I'll call you back as soon as I can. Bye!"

The frown on Aiden's face intensified, his finger itching to dial her number again but knowing all to well there would not be an answer. He closed his eyes, jaw clenching as he inhaled deeply and exhaled just as deeply, his rough fingers wrapping around the phone in his hands tightly. _Where could she be? _To the best of his knowledge she had to have gone home and especially after a job that's where she would primarily head to, knowing her. His lips fell into a thin line, still resisting that urge to redial the number before slamming his hand down on the passenger seat and letting the phone slip form his hand, and slide on the leather seat.

Resting his head in his other hand leaning against the window, Aiden heavily sighed. Something in the pit of his stomach was telling him something was wrong. It was a feeling Aiden was far too aware of, a feeling of dread that he had experienced far too often in his life and something he wanted to never experience again.

A light buzzing caught his attention, the barely visible speck of light emitting from his phone prompted him to fully turn his attention to it and sigh, closing his eyes. _I can't deal with him right now. _Aiden lazily made a grab for the phone, lightly pressing the screen to answer.

"Jordi, whatever you need better be important be-"

"You got any news from Shaw?" This was the only time Aiden would somewhat gladly allow Jordi to cut him off, though the information had further sunken whatever feeling he felt in the pit of his stomach.

Aiden took some time to answer, sighing before saying, "No. Why?"

A long, loud and heavy sigh left Jordi too, "I called her a couple of hours ago to come and pick up her cash from the last job I gave her…" he trailed off, "and she hasn't shown up."

"Did she tell you she was gonna pick it up?"

"Oh…yeah. She did." Jordi cleared his throat, adding. "Said she'd stop at her house first and then be on her merry way." Aiden had to roll his eyes at Jordi's choice of words, two fingers going to rub at the bridge of his nose.

"I'll—I'll go to her place and check it out." Aiden said, earning nothing from Jordi but a dead line. _Son of a bitch hung up. _

Aiden started the car, hands tightly gripping the wheel as he began the long and excruciatingly painful drive to her house. And that bothered him. The drive was only twenty minutes, which, in any other circumstances, would seem fairly rapid but just as it was with his drive to Nicky's after Damien's call, it felt like hours.

The sun was beginning to rise as he crossed the last bridge leading into her neighborhood, making Aiden much more nervous at the amount of time since he had heard from Shaw. _Four to six hours…fuck. _His nostrils flared, closing his eyes briefly before resuming the concentration he needed to have to be on the road.

Aiden soon reached the street where she lived, slightly speeding up down it before stepping on the breaks. He gave himself a push and exited the car, jogging to the front door and knocking loudly. Growing impatient at the lack of answer he made a run for the back door, knowing where she would usually hide a key as he entered her house.

The place had been turned over as Aiden entered Shaw's house and going from room to room, calling her name and thoroughly searching for her as he came to the realization that she was not there. He slowly, feeling defeated, made his way back to her kitchen as he leaned forward on the island. Aiden dropped his head in his hands as he tried remaining calm, understanding now that Damien had most definitely taken Shaw as collateral too.

Aiden straightened up, reaching for his phone as he dialed a familiar phone number and brought the phone to his ear.

"She's gone."

Aiden would be met with silent until he received an answer, "Uh, what?"

"Shaw! Jordi, she's gone!"

"Uh, what do you mean someone she's _gone_?" Jordi had sounded worried for a change.

"She's gone, Jordi! I think someone took her…her apartment is ransacked and it looks like there was a struggle, she put up a fight…" Aiden explained, slowly coming to terms, unhappily, that Shaw had been taken.

"That's our girl." Jordi sighed. "D'you know who took her? You need me or something?"

"Yeah, I know who but there's not gonna be anything here…I'll call you if I find anything."

"Alright." Jordi said with some form of hesitance as he hung up.

Aiden started going around her apartment, looking for clues of why her apartment was ransacked and if Damien had been looking for something specific by wrecking her apartment in the way he had. Any piece of paper he'd pick up he'd shake his head, nothing informative to be found on most of them as he would simply pile them together and put them back on the table.

When he returned to the living room he took note of her phone and laptop just sitting on the small table in the middle of the room, lying untouched, which had him frown. He opened her computer, hacking into it to see if there was anything that had been touched.

"There's nothing…" mumbled a confused Aiden.

"Of course there's nothing…I had nothing to begin with." Aiden snapped his head up towards the door where Shaw stood, leaning on it as he took in her bruised appearance. Holding onto her side, looking fine aside from the slightly split up lower lip and bruised cheek she had as he rapidly stood up and headed to her as he gently grabbed her biceps. "I'm okay, Aiden…"

"What happened?" He asked, still holding onto her.

"Damien, who else?" She said, looking up at him. "Had two of his goons trying to take me. They were waiting for me inside the house…They were able to get me in the car but I gave them enough hell to cause a crash…hence why I'm here…"

"You need to get checked out…" Aiden said as she waved him off.

"I'm fine…just bruised up and I'll feel sore as hell tomorrow but I'll live." She tried reassuring him as best as she could, knowing all too well it would never work with him. "If I wake up and feel like shit then I'll go…but I'm fine. And plus, hospitals ask questions and we don't need that right now…"

She walked past him, removing her jacket as she winced and went back to holding her ribs, "Can I please kill Damien when you get him…? Or at least maim him real bad first…"

"Be my guest." Aiden said. "Let me see." He gestured to her ribs as she rolled her eyes but his fixed gaze had her sigh in defeat as she approached him. Aiden took a seat on her couch as she stood in front of him, standing in between his legs.

She slowly lifted her shirt to reveal extremely bruised ribs as well as some redness, feeling his cold fingers slowly slide over her ribs as she hissed lightly. She immediately took note of his furrowed brows after she did so, "Your hands are cold." She simply stated under her breath as he reached for the hem of her shirt, bringing it down to cover her.

"It'll hurt when you wake up tomorrow." He said, keeping his hands on her hips as she gently took hold of them.

"I know…it'll be a bitch but I'll be fine." She said as he watched their hands just as she gently let go before stepping back. "I promise I'll get it checked out if it gets any worse."

"You can't stay here…not for a few days at least." Aiden said, causing Shaw to groan as she threw her head back and swore under her breath, moving away from him.

"Don't I know that…but I've got nowhere else to go." She began thinking of other options, slowly heading into her kitchen to assess the damage done by the fixers with Aiden following suit. "What do you think they were looking for?"

With a small shrug of the shoulder, Aiden spoke, "I don't know…does Damien know you came in contact with me?"

"Yeah, he knows. I-I told him I knew about the 'vigilante' thing when he thought I didn't…so yeah, Damien knows we talked." She explained, wincing while trying to pick up objects scattered around on the floor. Aiden walked to her as he watched her bend and would stop her.

"This can wait, Shaw…" He stated, delicately grabbing her arm and pulling her straight as she grunted with annoyance. He knew she would hate being told to wait, Shaw never having been one to receive advice well. Or to have someone trying to take care of her.

"What do you think they were looking for?" Aiden asked, glancing around the kitchen.

Shaw gave a slight shrug, "I don't know…"

Aiden slowly walked around to face her, "Damien seemed to think you had something…"

She scoffed, still holding onto her side and waving a hand around, "Well, sucks for him…I don't have _anything_." Shaw slowly settled herself against the counter. "I mean…the most he could find would be information on the job Jordi had me working on…"

"What job?" Shaw waved his question off before adding.

"But nothing. I would never write down stuff…you know me. I'm paranoid." Shaw said, watching him as he rolled his eyes slightly.

"You're…careful. It's different." She tilted her head slightly at his words, eyebrow cocked before looking to the wall where the bullet the man had tried shooting her with was lodged.

"Fuck…" She sighed, bringing a finger to inspect the damage. "_That_ I have to fix soon enough though…"

"He shot at you?!" Aiden asked. She nodded as he added. "And no one heard?"

"Silencer. And," she would add to make him understand, pointing at another lodged bullet in the opposite wall, "I shot at him too…"

Aiden gave a light shake of the head before looking back at her, "Are you gonna be okay?"

She would yet again wave his concern off before saying, "I'll live." She said, watching him before adding while looking around her messy kitchen. "I'll pack a bag and go to a motel for a night or two. Pay cash. Use another name. Like that he won't be able to trace me."

Aiden nodded, the relief now lining his shoulders before asking, "You still remember how to cover your tracks?"

"Botnets…my best friend as of now." She stated, looking down before swallowing hard and clearing her throat. She rolled her shoulder before saying,

"Can I ask for a ride? These assholes slashed my tires to stop me from leaving…"

He gave her a firm nod, "Get whatever you need and I'll drive you."

Shaw acquiesced, grateful while slowly walking past Aiden to go up the stairs and to her room. She packed a duffel bag with only the essentials of what she'd need for a few days, shoving them carelessly inside the bag before zipping it close. As she walked down the stairs Aiden slowly made his way to the bottom of them, holding a hand out to make a grab for her bag once she was close enough. Shaw thanked him before stopping dead in her tracks, grunting as Aiden asked her if something was wrong as he noted Winston following Shaw down the stairs.

"Winston…I can't bring him to a motel. I mean…I can try sneaking him in but I'd rather not. Fuck." She gave a light stomp with her foot.

Aiden groaned lightly, watching Winston approach him before lying at his feet, "We can stop by Leon's…he's kept an eye on him before, remember?" Shaw gradually began nodding in a slow manner, agreeing before walking to get the leash as well as the food.

"That is an idea…I just hope it's not too last minute." She mumbled, attaching the leash to Winston's collar. "C'mon boy, we're going out." She said, straightening up with a grunt before glancing to Aiden with a nod.

They exited the house, locking up behind them before Aiden unlocked the doors to his personal car, shoving the bag on the back seat while stepping aside to allow Shaw to get Winston inside. Aiden fixed his seat once the dog comfortably lied down on the back seat, entering the car and closing the door. Shaw carefully took a seat next to Aiden, wincing while sitting down as she held her ribs and dragged the door behind her, closing it.

"Alright, I'm good." She reached for the belt, strapping it around her chest and locking it in place before glancing to Winston and then Aiden, nodding to him. "Let's go."

With a nod, Aiden put the keys in the ignition and started the car before driving off quietly. He would glance from time to time to Shaw who was looking out the window while continuously holding onto her ribs and wincing when he would drive over a bump or hit potholes as he would apologize every single time. She would again just shrug it off, glancing to him with the tiniest of smiles as she would ask.

"How'd you even know...?" She mumbled as he quirked an eyebrow, confused. "How'd you even know I was gone?"

"I-I tried calling but you weren't answering, _that_ was my first indication something was off." He explained, making her chuckle.

"What was the second?"

He shifted in his seat, pursing his lips lightly before flexing his fingers around the wheel, "Jordi."

"Jordi?"

"Yeah. He called…said you never showed up to pick up your money." He quickly looked over to her. "I guess he was worried."

"Pfft. Jordi doesn't worry…" She scoffed.

Aiden shook his head at her apparent lack of faith in the fixer, "Well, he seemed worried."

She slowly began to shift in her seat, sighing, "Well, I guess the man does have a heart…somewhere…_deep_ inside." That caused Aiden to smirk lightly, agreeing with what she said although she probably had more of an insight on the man, having known him for over a decade. "He just doesn't show it very often…if ever."

Aiden stayed quiet, deciding not to comment on her last few words as he continued driving them to Leon's. He watched her for a few seconds, scanning over her features before returning his gaze to the road ahead of him, tightening his grip on the wheel and making a soft turn to the right.

"Maybe you should ask Leon if you can stay there for a few days…" he stated as an idea, waiting for her response.

She shook her head, "No. I don't want anything to happen to him because of me. The motel will do just fine." She turned to Aiden as the car slowed down, meeting his green eyes as she continued. "I'm done getting people hurt…"

"He'd do it, you know? Have you stay with him…"

She gave a light scoff, "Of course he would. All I'd have to do is ask and he'd have a room ready for me in under a day."

Aiden simply shook his head with a light chuckle, squinting and tilting his head forward to see the neon sign to Leon's restaurant. He gently cleared his throat, catching her attention as he made a careful turn to park the car in front of the diner.

"Diner's closed." She mumbled.

"Well, it's convenient he lives right above it." He stated with a slight curve of the lips as she removed the seatbelt. Aiden quickly stepped out of the car, closing the door before walking around to help her out as Winston began fidgeting in the back, Shaw gently telling him to remain calm. Shaw thanked Aiden once on her feet and out of the car, waiting for Aiden to give her the leash.

The street was dead quiet. There was no more than three people on the street, including them as they slowly crossed the street. The lights were still dim lit, lighting the street just enough to feel safe but not enough to disturb the sleeping citizens.

As they walked up the street Shaw stopped dead in her tracks, causing Aiden to stop two steps later before worriedly glancing back at her.

"I—I don't think I should be the one going to drop Winston off…"

Her words prompted Aiden to frown as he neared her, "Why not?"

She tilted her to the side lightly before looking into his eyes, "Aiden, the man is gonna see me looking like _this_," she gestured to her face, "and he's gonna freak out, and then he's gonna talk me into staying with him! We both know Leon and _that_ man can convince nearly anyone of…anything!" She reasoned.

Aiden lightly pursed his lips before crossing his arms as she added, "He'll find some ways to…you know, make me stay and I don't want him in any danger. We put him through enough back then."

She watched Aiden sighing just lightly, nodding, "Okay. I'll get Winston to Leon. You go back to the car and wait for me." Aiden said, reaching for the leash as he worked his fingers around hers to grip it and taking charge of Winston. Shaw glanced to the car just as it unlocked before kneeling as best as she could to pet Winston, looking up at Aiden as he helped her back up.

"Yeah, that, uh, that sounds good." She said. "Thanks."

Aiden only gave her a firm nod, giving her a gentle push towards the car as he walked to the door with Winston. She slowly made her way back to the car, opening the passenger door and entering the car before locking it up as she relaxed against the seat.

She sat there with her head thrown back against the seat, eyes closed and taking deep breaths, albeit still feeling the pain when she did. It was when the doors unlocked again that she finally reopened her eyes, having been slightly startled by the noise as she glanced to see Aiden step inside.

"How'd it go?" She mumbled, rubbing her eyes as he sat still next to her. Not even starting the car up.

"He wondered where you were." This caused Shaw to chuckle lightly, shaking her head. "Told him you were safe."

She cleared her throat, bringing a hand to cover her mouth as she did, "Let me guess, he, uh, he said he wouldn't believe ya until he'd see me?"

The tiniest scoff left his lips as he spoke, "Yeah…something along those lines." They both fell silent before he glanced to her just as she did, holding his gaze for a few seconds. "Let's get you a room. You need to get some rest…" he trailed off before putting the key in the ignition, "you look like crap."

She scoffed, resisting the urge to smirk as she lazily brought a hand to gently shove him, "Fuck you." She coughed out. "Just-just drive."

* * *

Shaw looked up, watching Aiden exit the motel reception area with a small key in his hands as he made his way to her as he visibly rolled his eyes as he reached her.

"I thought I told you to wait _in_ the car." He said, going for the back door to get her bag.

"No, you said to wait 'here'. You didn't specify where." He stopped moving, slowly turning his head to look at her with a 'seriously?' look plastered on his face as she shrugged lightly. "Don't mind me…I'm being a wise-ass."

"C'mon." He said, locking up the car before gently motioning for her to walk with him.

"Alright, alright." She whispered as they began walking, going up a flight of stairs before reaching the second floor. Soon enough Aiden began slowing down to come to a stop, Shaw looking up to a small red-ish door with the number eighteen painted on it. She watched as Aiden inserted the key in, twisting and then turning the knob before pushing the door open, letting her step in first as he followed suit.

She quickly let her eyes roam, taking in the inside of the room, which consisted of a simple bed with a dresser, bedside table and a private bathroom. She gently passed the bed, bringing one hand to feel it before going to the bathroom to look at it. She turned around, seeing Aiden drop the bag on the bed as he looked around lightly.

"What?" She asked softly, Aiden shaking his head. She sighed, knowing all too well why he looked so grim as he glanced around the room. He wanted her safe and by leaving her alone in a motel room he could not feel like she was. Shaw knew he probably was right but they both knew that putting other people in danger was just not an option either. She moved towards him, standing next to him as she opened up her bag and bringing a hand to squeeze his arm gently before glancing up quickly. "I'll be fine. You've got bigger things to worry about."

"Damien going after you is big." He retorted, his voice low as she inhaled calmly.

"And we will deal with that…but this," she used a hand to gesture to herself, "this was a complete failure in his plan. Now, I don't know if he knows that yet."

Aiden frowned, "What's that supposed to mean?"

She pursed her lips with a light sigh, "When his goons had me in the car?" He nodded. "I was…half out of consciousness and half in, but I managed to hear one of the guys calling Damien over speakers."

"And?"

"He still thinks he's got me and Nicky." When Aiden was about to ask 'why' she just went ahead and explained. "During the phone call he told them to bring me to a location _and_ to call him the next day in the early afternoon to give _you_ time to notice I was gone."

Aiden suddenly turned entirely to face her, brows knitted together as she added, "He's gonna have one hell of a surprise when he realizes I'm still out and free." She could not help herself but let a smirk tug at the corner of her lips as she watched Aiden nod. "He was too ambitious…and he fucked up. And he'll do it again."

They fell silent, Aiden letting his eyes fall for a small second before taking a step back as he rasped, "I should go." She followed his movement with looking down before glancing back up as he brought a gentle hand to rest on her shoulder as she snapped her eyes to look deep into his.

She brought her own hand up to softly grip the arm resting on her shoulder as she gave it a soft squeeze, her eyes still locked onto his as he visibly exhaled. She felt him press the palm of his hand flat against her shoulder blade as he delicately pushed her to him in a one-arm embrace, catching her off guard as she brought a hand to press flat against the middle of his back.

They stood there in silence and unmoving, Shaw feeling his head moving to a position where he was pressing what may have been a kiss against the side of her head as she softly flexed her fingers around the fabric of his coat. She found herself closing her eyes and relaxing against the man she had known for eight years, her head comfortably resting against his chest as they stood in the middle of the room. With a content sigh heard leaving Shaw's lips, Aiden closed his eyes again as he pressed another light, and hopefully subtle, kiss to the top of her head this time around.

With reluctance they both pulled away from each other, Aiden letting his hand travel down the length of her arm until it reached her hand to which he gave a small squeeze before putting some distance between them. Shaw gave him something akin to a ghost smile, something barely visible for the usual person but for him, he knew she was smiling. She looked up to him as he immediately sent his eyes to let them roam around the room one last time before glancing back to her as she gestured to the door.

"I know you have to go, Aiden." She said. "Don't w—I'll be fine. I promise." She corrected, her tone trying to reassure him as he hesitantly began stepping to the door. "I'll give you a call once I wake up." She added.

"Lock the door. Don't u—" "Don't use my own phone, use a public one. Botnets. Pay cash. Try to cover my face if I have to go out. I know the drill." She cut him off softly, nodding more to herself than to him.

He nodded, grabbing the doorknob, "Okay. Stay safe."

"I will."

* * *

**Here it is! I sure hope y'all liked it! **

**This was a tiny filler really but we're getting back into the gist of things in the next one, I can guarantee you. AS WELL as introducing an new character! HA HA! Yes! A new character. **

**Again, you can contact me through PM to ask me some questions or just to talk to me! I'm super friendly! I love constructive comments but no bashing please. If you don't like it, just don't read and comment on it if it's all for the sake of bashing. **

**Reviews are appreciated! =) Again, I will go over the chapter later today (It's almost 4AM where I am) and I will try to fix the grammar mistakes. I apologize again if there are any, I'm French-Canadian and English is not my mother tongue. **

**I hope you liked it! Love you all! **

**R&R!**


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